Skip to main content

Full text of "197804 Interface Age V 03 I 04"

See other formats 


i cnrat-c 


VOLUME  3,  ISSUE  4 APRIL  1978  $2.00 

CANADAIMEXICO  S2.S0  INTERNATIONAL  $3.50 


MICROCOMPUTING  FOR  SMALL  BUSINESS  AND  HOME 


Artificial  Intelligence 
Robot  Vocal  Interface 
Rag  Bra  burg 
R2D2 


All  New 

Business  Section 


p 

Sf= — mu 

A‘i 

1 

r jajfjji:  ■ 

v % 

Kill 

1 / t/lIM  i 


READY  lor  BUSINESS 

We've  got  it  all  together— the  cost  effectiveness  and  reliability  of  our  6800  computer  system 
with  a high  capacity  1.2  megabyte  floppy  disk  system.  . . PLUS— an  outstanding  new  DOS 
and  file  management  system. 


1 MEGABYTE  DISK  SYSTEM 

DMAF1  introduces  a new  level  of  capability  to 
small  computer  systems.  This  disk  system  fea- 
tures two  standard  size  floppy  disk  drives  using 
the  new  double  sided  disk  and  two  heads  per 
drive.  Usable  storage  space  of  over  600  kilobytes 
per  drive,  giving  a total  of  over  1.0  megabyte  of 
storage  on  line  at  all  times.  Ideal  for  small  busi- 
ness applications,  or  for  personal  "super"  sys- 
tems. 

DMA  CONTROLLER 

The  controller  occupies  one  main  memory  slot 
in  an  SS-50  bus  and  uses  the  Motorola  MC-6844 
DMA  controller.  The  combination  of  a DMA 


type  controller  and  double  sided  disks  give  the 
system  speed  of  data  transfer  unobtainable  with 
smaller  drives. 

OPERATING  SYSTEM 

To  compliment  this  outstanding  hardware  we 
are  supplying  equally  superior  software.  The 
disk  operating  system  and  file  management  sys- 
tem is  called  FLEX.  It  is  one  of  the  most  flex- 
ible and  complete  DOS's  available  for  small  sys- 
tems, but  just  as  important;  it  is  easy  to  use. 

No  one  can  match  the  variety  of  compatible 
peripherals  offered  by  Southwest  Technical 
Products  for  the  SS-50  bus  and  the  6800  com- 
puter system.  Now  more  than  ever  there  is  no 
reason  to  settle  for  less. 


DMAF1  Disk  System  (assembled) $2,095.00 

DMAF1  Disk  System  (kit) $2,000.00 

68/2  Computer  with  40K  of  memory  (assembled) $1,195.00 


SOUTHWEST  TECHNICAL  PRODUCTS  CORPORATION 

216  W.  RHAPSODY 

SAN  ANTONIO,  TEXAS  78216 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  53 


auumiui^ur'  on,  in 

data  domain 

■ttfcSO.  COLLEGE  AVENUE 


FQfcYWAYKE.lN 
DATA  DOMAIN 
aos  £.  STATE RLVft. 

FLK.ESVlt.LE,  MO 
MODULAR  SYSTEMS,  INC, 

4O0S  SEVEN  MILE  LANE 

ROOJVSU,6,IMO 
COMPUTER  WORKSHOP 
17TGEA5T  [LEFEttSON 

TO-WS&N.  Mf> 

COMPUTERS,  ETC. 

IS  A ALLEGHENY  AVENUE 

BURLINGTON.  ViA 
THE  COMPUTER  STORE 
12Q  CAMBRIDGE  STREET 

EDINA,  MN 
COMPUTER  DEPOT 
3SI5W.70TM  STREET 

ISEL1N,N| 

COMPUTER  MART  OF  NEW  JERSEY 
501  ROUTE  frt? 

EeCESTSVJLLE,  NY 

CO  RSON  COMPUTE  R COR  PC  R ATION 
3ftH  MAIN  STREET 

HQ  LA  IS,  KY 

SYNCHRO  SOUND  ENTERPRISES 
1?>3S  J AMAICA  AVENUE 

aXCINNATl.OK 
DATA  DOMAIN 
TEMCAMAROD  ROAD 

PAVTON,  OH 
DATA  DOMAIN 
1902 BROWN  STREET 

COLUMBIA.  SC 

BYTE  SHOP  Of  COLUMBIA 
201  SCREEN  STREET 

NASHVILLE 

SURYA  CORPORA! TON 
STS5  NOLENSV[LLE  KOAD 

CORPUS  CHRISTI.TK 

MICRO  SYSTEMS  SERVICES,  INC 

3301  EVERHART,  SPACE  H 

DALLAS.  TX 
CO¥IPUSHOP 

311  KEYSTONE  PR,  13932  NORTH  CENTRAL 
HOUSTON, TX 

COMPUTERLAND  OF  S.  W.  HOUSTON 
64-39  WEST  HEIM  ER 

HOUSTON.  TX 

ELECT  ROTE  X 

2JM  RICHMOND  AVENUE 

HOUSTON,  TX 
THE  MOS 

1833  RICHMOND  A VENUE 
RACINE.  W1 

COLORTltON  TV 
Jill  LATHPOP AVENUE 

HUNTINGDON.  CAMBS.,  ENGLAND 

COMART  LIMITED 

39  GORDON  ROAD,  UTTLE  FAXTON 

MUNSTER,  44JW  IULTRUF,  WEST  GERMANY 

basis  microcomputer  vertrieb 
vwi.flotqw.st  raise  s 

WEDEL  20M,  [HOLSTEIN),  WEST  GERMANY 
D1GITR0NIC  OOMPUTERSYSTEME 
EEI  OER  DGFPELEICHE  M 

MEXICO  1ft,  D.F.  MEXICO 
JNTELeX.S-A, 

P.  APE  LOS  SANTOS  TO 

ZURICH  .SWITZERLAND 
COMICRO  AG 
BAD  EKE  RST  RASS  E 2ft  1 


Now  we  can  announce  it- 
the  multi-disk  drive 
System  Three  Computer 


A fast  Z80  microcomputer  with  up  to  512  kiiobytes  of  RAM, 
4 disk  drives  and  1 megabyte  of  disk  storage — with  CRT 
terminal  and  fast  printer.  Even  an  optional  PROM  program- 
mer. Strong  software  support,  too,  like  FORTRAN  IV, 
Extended  BASIC,  and  Macro  Assembler. 


PROFESSIONAL  GRADE — 
FOR  PROFESSIONALS 

Chances  are  you've  already  heard 
that  there  is  a Cromemco  System 
Three  Computer.  We've  proudly  pre- 
viewed it  at  WESCON  on  the  West 
Coast  and  NYPC  on  the  East  Coast, 

It's  a complete  system — processor, 
CRT  terminal,  line  printer. 

First  It's  fast — 1 microsecond  nom- 
inal execution  time  and  250  nano- 
second cycle  time. 

Its  equally  fast  RAM  memory  is 
large  and  enormously  expandable — 
32  kilobytes  expandable  to  512  kilo- 
bytes, No  danger  of  obsolescence 
from  inadequate  RAM  capacity. 

THE  ONLY  MICROCOMPUTER 
OFFERING  4 DISK  DRIVES 

Further,  the  System  Three  comes 
with  two  disk  drives  to  give  you  512 
kilobytes  of  disk  storage.  Soft- 
sectored  IBM  format.  Optionally,  you 
can  have  four  drives  with  1 mega- 
byte of  storage. 

There's  disk  protection,  too,  since 
in  the  LOCK  position  disks  can't  be 
ejected  while  they  are  running. 

21-SLOT  MOTHERBOARD 

This  new  CS-3  is  a computer  that 
won't  be  outdated  soon.  It  has  a 21- 


card-slot  slide-out  motherboard  and 
an  $-100  bus  so  that  you  can  plug  in 
all  sorts  of  support  circuitry.  The 
heavy-duty  30-amp  power  supply  can 
easily  handle  all  this. 

BROAD  S-100  SUPPORT 

The  S-100  is  the  bus  that  Cro- 
memco so  strongly  supports  with 
over  a dozen  plug-in  circuits  ranging 
from  analog  I/O  to  high-speed  RAM 
memory  with  our  bank- select  feature. 

TRULY  POWERFUL  SOFTWARE 

You  have  to  have  software.  And 
Cromemco  is  far  in  front  there,  too. 
Our  FORTRAN  IV,  for  example,  is 
equal  to  the  FORTRAN  compilers 
on  large  mainframes.  Further,  it  (and 
our  other  software)  is  low-priced. 

Our  16K  Z80  BASIC  is  one  of  the 
fastest  and  most  capable.  Full  14- 
digit  precision. 

There's  also  our  ZSO  Macro  As- 
sembler and  Unking  Loader,  Uses 
ZSO  mnemonics.  Allows  referencing 
FORTRAN  common  blocks, 

SEE  AT  YOUR  DEALER 

You  have  to  see  the  C5-3  to  fully 
appreciate  it  and  its  low  prices  start- 
ing at  $5990  in  the  rack  mount  ver- 
sion. 

Better  contact  your  dealer  now. 


Cromemco 

Incorpor  ated 
Specialists  in  computers  and  peripherals 
2400  CHARLESTON  RD.,  MOUNTAIN  VIEW,  CA  94043  * (415)  $64-7400 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  11 


VOL.  3,  ISSUE  4 

SINCE  DECEMBER  1975 


APRIL  1978 


COVER  STORY 

Robotics,  the  next  logical 
step  for  mankind.  The  robot 
on  this  month’s  cover  ap- 
pears to  be  contemplating 
his  place  in  the  scheme  of 
things.  Is  he  a man,  an  an- 
droid, or  merely  a hunk  of 
metal? 

Cover  designed  by 
Pamela  Mower 


Advertiser  Index  .........176 

Book  Reviews  140 

Calendar 33 

Career  Opportunities  .....170 

Editor’s  Notebook 6 

European  Interface 52 

FIFO  Rea  Market .........  174 

From  the  Fountainhead  ...  50 
Jurisprudent  Computerist  . 47 

Letters  to  the  Editor 8 

Micro-Market  172 

Mind  Revolution  .........  42 

New  Products 118 

Sense  Line ....  58 

Update 18 

White  Collar 

Microcomputer  39 


imEFirttLC  aSc’ 

MICROCOMPUTING  FOR  SMALL  BUSINESS  AND  HOME 


FEATURES 

ROBOTICS  EDITORIAL - 62 

by  Editorial  Staff 

WHERE  ROBOT  MICE  AND  ROBOT  MEN  RUN  ROUND 

IN  ROBOT  TOWNS 63 

by  flay  Bradbury 

THE  HISTORY  OF  ROBOTS 64 

by  Forest  J,  Ackerman 

THE  QUASAR  INDUSTRIES’ ROBOTS 68 

MEET  THE  SPA'S  AND  THEIR  TRAINERS.  by  Gene  Beley 

FROM  STEAM  ENGINES  TO  ROBOTS  . . . THE  HIERARCHIES 
OF  ROBOTIC  DEVICES  74 

by  F.  W.  Chesson 

STAR  WARS  - SPECIAL  PRODUCTION  AND 

MECHANICAL  EFFECTS 78 

by  John  Slears 

A NATURAL  APPROACH  TO  ARTIFICIAL  INTELLIGENCE 80 

by  Roger  C,  Garrett,  Northeastern  Regional  Editor 

BUSINESS  FEATURES 

BUSINESS  EDITORIAL 84 

" by  Editorial  Stall 

ROBOTS  IN  MANUFACTURING 85 

by  Ashuk  K . Nagranf,  P E. 

MAIL  CODE  SORT  AND  PRINT  PROGRAM 90 

by  Jim  Huffman 

DESIGNING  A SMALL  BUSINESS  COMPUTER  SYSTEM 

AN  OVERVIEW 92 

by  William  L Cols  her 

HARDWARE  FEATURES 

CARD-OF-THE-MONTH:  PARATRONICS,  INC.  MODEL  150 

BUS  GRABBER™  94 

by  Roger  Edetson,  Hardware  Editor 

ROBOTS:  MAKING  THEM  WORK 101 

by  Roger  C.  Garrett,  Northeastern  Regional  Editor 

ROBBIE  AND  GRONK  MOBILE  ROBOTS 104 

by  Keith  Paul 

THE8085  IN  ROBOT  DESIGN 110 

by  Frank  Da  Costa 

A VOCAL  INTERFACE  FOR  YOUR  ROBOT 112 

by  Frank  Da  Costa 

COMPUTER  TUTORIAL -PART  III  115 

MEMORIES  REMEMBERED.  by  Roger  Edelson,  Hardware  Editor 

SOFTWARE  FEATURES 

SOFTWARE  EDITORIAL 143 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  DOCUMENTATION  by  Dr.  A.  A , Perez,  Software  Editor 

FLOPPY  ROM™  LOADING  TECHNIQUES  — PART  II 145 

by  Orv  Balcom 

ARASEM:  A PROGRAMMING  APPROACH  FOR  ROBOTS 156 

by  Frank  Da  Costa 

DOCUMENTATION:  USERS  CAN’T  DO  WITHOUT  IT;  BUT 
PROGRAMMERS  CAN  ...  OR  CAN  THEY? 160 

by  Tom  Fay,  Senior  Applications  Programmer 
National  Semiconductor  Corporation 

USE  YOUR  COMPUTER  TO  SORT  RESISTORS * 167 

by  Lucille  A,  Moody 


INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine,  published  monthly  by  McPheters,  Wolfe  & Jones,  16704  Marquardt  Ave.,  Cerritos,  CA  90701 . Subscription  rates;  U.S,  $14,00, 
Canada/Mexico  $16.00,  all  other  countries  $24.00,  Make  checks  payable  in  U.S,  funds  drawn  on  a U.S.  bank.  Opinions  expressed  in  by-lined  articles  do 
not  necessarily  reflect  the  opinion  of  this  magazine  or  the  publisher.  Mention  of  products  by  trade  name  In  editorial  material  or  advertisements  contained 
herein  In  no  way  constitutes  endorsement  of  the  product  or  products  by  this  magazine  or  the  publisher. 

INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine  COPYRIGHT  © 1978  by  McPheters,  Wolfe  & Jones,  ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED.  Material  in  this  publication  may  not  be 
reproduced  in  any  form  without  permission.  Requests  for  permission  should  be  directed  to  Kathy  Robertson,  Rights  and  Permission,  McPheters,  Wolfe 
& Jones,  16704  Marquardt  Ave,,  Cerritos,  CA  90701,  INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine  is  catalogued  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  Classification  No,  QA75.5.155. 
Membership  in  Audit  Bureau  of  Circulations  applied  for. 

POSTMASTER:  Please  send  change  of  address  form  3579  and  undelivered  copies  to  INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine,  16704  Marquardt  Ave.,  Cerritos,  CA 
90701 . Second-class  postage  paid  at  Artesia,  California  90701  and  at  additional  mailing  offices. 


2 INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  197$ 


The  Central  Data  2650: 
Reliable  and  Affordable 


The  Central  Data  2650  Computer 
Board  system  has  been  carefully 
designed  and  built  with  you  in  mind. 
We've  also  designed  software  and 
memory  to  go  with  the  2650  so  that 
you'll  have  a complete  system.  You 
deserve  quality  equipment,  and  we've 
built  it  for  you.  Take  a look  at  the  2650 
board  features  and  see  for  yourself. 

• a 2650  microprocessor 

• an  80  character  by  16  line  display 

• a 300  Baud  cassette  interface 

• a powerful  IK  Supervisor  Program 

• one  parallel  input  port  and  one  bit 
settable  output  port 

• 2048  bytes  of  read-write  memory  for 
the  video  display  and  your  programs 

• expands  to  S-100  bus 

• low  price  of  $275 

The  2650  board  comes  assembled, 
tested  and  ready  to  plug  in  and  comes 
with  a full  one  year  guarantee.  The 
price  includes  a Signetics  2650 
Microprocessor  Manual  and  a Computer 
System  Manual  from  Central  Data. 

We  offer  the  Editor/ Assembler  and  8K 
Basic  software  packages  for  the  2650 
system,  and  our  S-100  24K  memory 
board  allows  full  expansion  of  the 
system.  (16K  and  32K  memory  boards 
are  also  available.)  Each  software 
package  costs  only  $20.  The  24K 
memory  board  is  $395.  All  software 
comes  with  a program  listing. 

With  all  these  features  you  can't  afford 
to  pass  up  the  Central  Data  2650  system. 


: . 1 , . s 


Central 

data 

P+0>  Box  2484,  Station  A 
Champaign,  IL  61820 
(217)  359-8010 


Please  send  me  the  following: 

□ 2650  computer  system  board  ($275) 

] □ 16K  RAM  ($259} 

■ □ 24K  RAM  ($395) 

| □ 32K  RAM  ($475) 

; □ Editor/Assembler  ($20) 

j □ Basic  ($20) 

□ Additional  information 

l enclose  $ . 

| III  residents  add  5%  sales  tax. 


Name  __ 

Address 

Gty 

State  


Zip  

CofUiyiI  D,>Li  ■ P.O  Box  2484.  5 Li,  A ■ Champaign,  ML  61820 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  6 


INTERFACE  AGE  3 


OSBORNE  &>  ASSOCIATES,  INC. 

The  World  Leaders  In  Microprocessor  Books 


If  you  want  information  on  microprocessors,  begin  with 
the  Osborne  books. 


PROGRAM  BOOKS  WRITTEN  IN  BASIC 

Payroll  With  Cost  Accounting 
Accounts  Payable  And  Accounts 
Receivable 
General  Ledger 

These  books  may  be  used  independently,  or 
implemented  together  as  a complete  ac- 
counting system.  Each  contains  program 
listings,  user's  manual  and  thorough  docu- 
mentation. Written  in  an  extended  version 
of  BASIC. 

#22002  H00  pages),  #23002*,  #24002* 

Some  Common  SASIC  Programs 

76  short  practical  programs,  most  of  which 
can  be  used  on  any  microcomputer  with  any 
version  of  BASIC,  Complete  with  program 
descriptions,  listings,  remarks  and  exam- 
ples. 

#21002  {200  pages) 


ASSEMBLY  LANGUAGE  PROGRAMMING 
8080A/8085  Assembly  Language  Programming 
6800  Assembly  Language  Programming 


These  books  describe  how  to  program  a 
microcomputer  using  assembly  language. 
They  discuss  classical  programming  techni- 
ques, and  contain  simplified  programming 
examples  relevant  to  today  s microcom- 
puter applications, 

#31003  {400  pages),  32003* 


AN  fNTRODUCTION  TO  MICROCOMPUTERS 

Volume  0 - The  Beginner's  Book 

If  you  know  nothing  about  computers,  then 
this  is  the  book  for  you.  It  introduces  com- 
puter logic  and  terminology  in  language  a 
beginner  can  understand.  Computer  soft* 
ware,  hardware  and  component  parts  are 
described,  and  simple  explanations  are  given 
for  how  they  work.  Text  is  supplemented 
with  creative  illustrations  and  numerous 
photographs.  Volume  0 prepares  the  novice 
for  Volume  L 
#6001  (300  pages) 


Volume  1 — - Basic  Concepts 

This  best  selling  text  describes  hardware 
and  programming  concepts  common  to  all 
microprocessors.  These  concepts  are  ex- 
plained clearly  and  thoroughly,  beginning  at 
an  elementary  level.  Worldwide,  Volume  I 
has  a greater  yearly  sales  volume  than  any 
other  computer  text, 

#2001  (350  pages) 

Volume  II  — Some  Real  Products 
(revised  June  1977) 

Every  common  microprocessor  and  all  Sup- 
port devices  are  described.  Only  data  sheets 
are  copied  from  manufacturers.  Major  chip 
slice  products  are  also  discussed, 

#3001 A (1250  pages) 


PROGRAMMING  FOR  LOGIC  DESIGN 

8080  Programming  For  Logic  Design 
8800  Programming  For  Logic  Design 
Z80  Programming  For  Logic  Design 

These  books  describe  the  meeting  ground 
of  programmers  and  logic  designers;  written 
for  both,  they  provide  detailed  examples  to 
illustrate  effective  usage  of  microprocessors 
in  traditional  digital  applications, 

#4001,  #5001,  #7001  (300  pages  each) 


OSBORNE  & ASSOCIATES,  INC.  • P.O.  Box  2036  • dept.  C17  ‘Berkeley,  California  94702  • 14151  54B-Z80S  9:00  a-m-  - 5:00  p.m.  PST 

TWX  910-366-7277 


Price  applies  to  orders  received  by  June  30.  1978*  - 

.PRICE 

QTY 

AMT 

600 1 Volume  0 — The  Beginner' s Book 

$ 7,50 

2001  Volume  1 — Basic  Concepts 

7.50 

3001 A Volume  II  — Some  Real  Products  11977  edition! 

15.00 

400  > 6080  Programming  For  Logic  Design 

7,50 

5001  6800  Programming  For  Logic  Design 

7.50 

7001  Z80  Programming  For  Logic  Design 

7.50 

31003  aOQOA/BOBS  Assembly  Language  Programming 

7.50 

21002  Some  Common  BASIC  Programs 

7,50 

22002  Payroll  With  Cost  Accounting 

12,50 

* 6-1/2%.  SF  Bay  Area  residents  only  TOTAL 

*6%.  California  residents  outside  SF  Bay  Area 

• Payment  most  be  enclosed  lor  orders  of  Sales  Ta*  ,Ca»<  rasi!t8r’ls  ontvl 

10  books  or  less.  Shioikng  Chsrees 

■ 1 have  enclosed:  B 

□ check  Q money  order  TOTAL  AMOUNT  OF  PURCHASE 

NAME 


Price  increase  scheduled  for  July  1,  1978 


erTY  STATE  ZIP  PHONE 

SHIPPING  CHARGES  Stopping  charges  for  bulk  orders  to  be  arranged 

□ 4th  class  [no  charge,  allow  3-4  weeks  within  USA,  not  applicable  to  d-scounted  orders  f 

□ $.50  per  book,  UPS  fellow  10  days)  in  the  U.S. 

□ 51,50  per  book,  special  rush  shipment  by  air  in  the  U.S. 

□ AH  foreign  orders.  $3-00  per  book,  for  air  shipment 

#These  books  are  scheduled  to  be  published  during  1973  Please  send  information  on- 
P lease  notify  me  when  they  are  availabre:  □ pricing,  ordering,  and  titles 

□ 23002  Accounts  Payable  and  Accounts  Receivable  available  after  6/30778 

□ 24002  General  Ledger  □ initial  dealer  consign  meets 

D 32003  6600  Assembly  Language  Programing  □ deafer  end  school  discounts 

□ foreign  distributors  pg 


4 INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  39 


APRIL  1978 


%J£T“  <t“*  ' » ^JEF^ 

¥?????£  * C *?V???r^ 


h^^\VWVVn 


q£Xirm*  ^ss*— ^ 

^^AvAVWiV^.* Tl*  mVi-Tv,*  T**MvTv 


^>>>y//^/^/)  V-cC^V-f'-T-S*-!^  >^-U^>> 
^™**,“*  * ’E|™r""  4nfs£"  - ■ ‘ vtsr* 

«ar”  • *sr—  • «r  «Br“ 

«»s—  «sr-  «r*  ...?»••:: 


Trace  Electronics  

32K/16K  STATIC 

RAM 


What  could  you  do  with  this  board 
in  your  system? 


Trace  Electronics  brings  you  a highly  flexible,  lower  powered, 
fully  STATIC  32k  or  16k  memory  board  for  your  S-100  Bus  com- 
puter (Aitair,  jrnsai,  Sol,  Poly,  Xitan,  etc.),  The  model  3200  has  a 
capacity  of  32768  Bytes  with  fully  buffered  address  and  data 
lines.  All  buffered  inputs  are  schmidt  triggered  for  excellent  noise 
immunity  and  require  only  minimal  bus  loading  (one  low  power 
load).  The  buffered  outputs  are  rated  for  driving  more  than  130 
low  power  toads.  Since  the  board  is  fully  static,  there  is  no 
refresh  or  clocking  required  and  is  therefore  compatible  with 
DMA  and  other  devices. 

Low  power  and  high  reliability  are  key  features  of  the  design. 
The  Tl  4044 's  (or  equivalents)  provide  storage  capacity  at  up  to 
65%  less  power  than  low  power  21L02  chips.  The  power  re- 
quired is  1.7A  at  8V.  for  model  1600  and  3.3A  at  8V.  for  model 
3200  A special  thermal  design  which  places  a separate 
regulator  on  each  4k  x 8 section  of  memory  affords  a very  effi- 
cient system  of  heat  dissipation. 

The  most  outstanding  feature  of  the  board  is  its  versatile  ad- 
dressing. Each  4k  x 8 section  is  separately  assignable  to  any  4k 
slot  in  the  computer's  address  space.  This  feature  allows  the 
user  to  make  use  of  the  growing  amount  of  software  that  re- 
quires this  and  avoids  the  problems  associated  with  only  being 
able  to  assign  the  board  to  a continuous  32k  block.  In  addition, 
the  Megextend™  feature  allows  up  to  one  megabyte  to  be  ad- 
dressed providing  there  is  a 4 bit  output  port  in  the  system.  This 
allows  up  to  32  model  3200  boards  per  system,  as  long  as  the 
power  requirements  are  met 

The  model  1600  is  the  same  as  the  3200  except  that  it  only 
contains  16k  of  memory  chips.  The  1600  may  be  converted  to  a 
32k  board  by  merely  Installing  the  extra  1 6k  of  memory  chips. 
The  sockets  for  the  additional  16k  are  Installed  as  a standard 
feature  of  the  model  1600. 


Both  models  are  silk-screened  and  solder  masked  on  FR4 
epoxy  board  with  a gold  plated  bus  connector.  They  are  fully 
socketed,  assembled,  tested  and  burned  in. 

To  order,  simply  phone  Trace  Electronics  at  215-779-3677  or 
mail  the  attached  coupon.  So  as  to  provide  quick  delivery  all 
orders  will  be  shipped  by  the  fastest  practical  means  (e.g.  Ex- 
press Mail,  Air  Mail,  UPS  Blue  Label,  eta).  Model  3200  is  priced 
at  $999.  and  Model  1600  is  $599.  Express  shipping  is  pre-paid. 
Call  or  write  today. 

Trace  Electronics,  Inc. 

215-779-3677 

P.G  Box  3247  Hampden  Station 
Reading,  Pennsylvania  19604 


I would  like  to  Older  the  loll  owing: 

Model  3200  32k  Static  Memory.  Assembled  end 
tested  $999. 

Model  1600  16k  ol  memory  on  Ihe  3 dove  32k  board 
Assembled  with  sockets  lor  32k  end 
tested  with  16k.  5599. 

Model  1601  16k  expansion  kii  lor  above.  5499. 

My  address  is: 

Name 


Address 
City  .. 
Phone  _ 


_Zip_ 


Enclosed  is  a check  or  money  order  lor: 


TRACE 


Mail  ihls  coupon  to:  Trace  Electronics  Incorporated 
P.G.  Box  3247  Hampden  Station, 

Reading,  Pennsylvania  19604 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  56 


INTERFACE  AGES 


imcriwLC  «SE 


16704  Marquardt  Avenue 
Cerritos,  CA  90701 
{21 3}  926-9544 

PUBLISHER  & EOI  TOR- IN  ■CHIEF 

ROBERT  S,  JONES 

EXECUTIVE  PUBLISHER 

NANCY  A-  JONES 

GENERAL  MANAGER 

EVA  YAKA 

MARKETING  MANAGER 

MEL  MU  RC  HI  SON 

PUBLICATION  DIRECTOR 

MIKE  ANTICFI 

SENIOR  EDITOR 

CARL  WARREN,  WBLVS 

ASSISTANT  EDITOR 

SANDI  MC  KEEN 

NORTHWESTERN  REGIONAL  EDITOR 

ADAM  OSBORN Ei  PhD 

NORTHEASTERN  regional  EDITOR 

ROGER  C.  GARRETT 

southeastern  regional  editor 

WILLIAM  TURNER,  WB4ALM 

SOFTWARE  EDITOR 

ABRAHAM  A-  PEREZ,  PhD 

HARDWARE  EDITOR 

ROGER  EDELSON 

CONTRIBUTING  BUSINESS- EDITOR 

BUD  SHAM  BURGER 

EDITORIAL  ASSISTANT 

DENISE  JACKSON 

ASSISTANT-TOFU  E-PUBLISHER 

KATHY  ROBERTSON 

CIRCULATION 

DONNA  YOSHIOKA 

ACCOUNTING  assistant 

SAYOKO  TAN15AKI 

ART 

MARGARET  FENSTEFtMAKER 
FIND  ORTIZ 

PRODUCTION  ARTIST 

SHELLEY  WRIGHT 

SUBSCRIPTION  circulation 

jo  ANN  FERGUSON 

TYPOGRAPHER 

MELODY  A.  MARTENS 

Editorial  Correspondence 

Dirfld  All  (terras  u-orKl&nce  in  Pm  appTQpnaiv 
cdllui  at  INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine.  PO 
Bo»  1234  CenlLoa-.  CA  00?0l 

4 

national  sales  manager 

BRUCE BEftKEY 

ADVERTiSlN  G-  Re  preseel  stives 

TIM  O'ROURHE-  ZACH  BOVtNETTE 

Advertising  Inquiries 

Direei  all  advsrHsmg  tnowiriBs  <o  Addin'll  Bing 
Dapt..  INTERFACE  AGE  Marine,  fi\  Soutti 
Lake  Afenut;.  P-O.  Boil  45&6,  Pasadena,  CA 
01  IDE  12131  79S7002 

DOMESTIC  RETAIL  CIRCULATION 

ZACH  BOVHMETTE 

[213}  795 7W2 

JAPAN  CIRCULATION 
HAZUKIKO  NlSHI 

ascii  Publishing  ■ MS  Hi  TORIO 
5'G.A  Mtnaml  A^ysma, 

Minato-ky.  Tokyo  |Q7  Japan 
ToNttshonc  (D3)  4OM&10 

UNITED  KINGDOM  CIRCULATION 
VINCENT  COEN 

L.P.  Enterprise,  313  Kingnon  Ruatl, 

II lord.  Essex,  England  JGMPJ 
Telephone:  01-&53.  lEMJt 

WESTERN  CANADA  CIRCULATION 
BRIAN  t.J.  WIESE 

K,  I Home.  25236  26th  Avenue  RR5 
Alucrgr&vi'.  B C VOX  JAO 
Telephone:  |GCW} 

EASTERN  CANADA  CIRCULATION 

LIZ  J ANEK 

PS-232,  Lid  . IBS  Queen  Street  Woat 
Toronto-,  Ontario  MSV  121 
Telephone.  H2EU  SSfl-OZSB 

AUSTRALIA  CIRCULATION 

R.  J.  HOESS 

Electronic  Concopts  Ply-  Ltd- 

52-56  Clarence  Street,  Survey  NSW  2000 
Telephone  jg.aTSS 


MEM&EROF  THE  WESTERN 
PUBLISHERS  ASSOCIATION 


AMERICAN  SOCIETY  OF 
BUSINESS  PRESS  EDITORS 


April,  at  INTERFACE  AGE,  is  tradi- 
tionally the  month  to  delve  into  the 
subject  of  robots.  From  the  cover, 
you  have  probably  guessed  that  this 
year  is  no  exception.  Within  these 
pages,  you  will  find  several  interest* 
ing  and  light  hearted  stories  about 
robots. 

This  year  we  tried  something  new, 
and  we  hope  you  like  it.  This  issue 
provides  not  only  hardware  robot 
stories,  but  stories  covering  just 
about  every  aspect  of  robotics,  from 
Ray  Bradbury's  point  of  view  to  a 
quick  look  at  the  Star  Wars  robots. 

While  putting  together  this  month's 
issue,  we  were  in  contact  with  sev- 
eral universities  and  companies  that 
are  involved  in  robot  research  and 
development.  Unfortunately,  due  to 
deadlines,  we  were  unable  to  secure 
articles  from  alt  the  contacts  that  we 
made.  But,  I can  mention  a couple  of 
them  here. 

Harvey  Lip  kin  of  the  University  of 
Florida,  Department  of  Mechanical 
Engineering,  called  to  let  us  know 
about  their  endeavors.  It  seems  they 
are  studying  robot  technology  in  a 
big  way  in  Florida,  and  have  devel- 
oped some  advancements  in  the 
field,  I wish  that  we  had  complete 
details,  but  Harvey  did  promise  an 
indepth  article  for  next  April,  so  it 
gives  us  alt  something  to  look  for- 
ward to. 

A phone  call  from  Erik  Lindholm, 
at  Lour  Control,  1822  Largo  Court, 
Schamburg,  Illinois  60194,  informed 
us  that  his  company  was  taking 
robotic  control  seriously.  The  folks 
at  Lour,  which  incidentally  is  a manu- 
facturer of  electronic  controllers, 
have  developed  a device  they  call 
the  *ET  2.T  This  robot  device  is  a 
15-inch  tall  by  12Vz-inch  diameter 
mechanism  that  is  designed  to  inter- 
face with  hobbyist  computer  sys- 
tems and  is  controlled  by  binary  in- 
put, according  to  Erik. 

Essentially,  the  ?ET  2'  is  a micro- 
computer controlled  controller,  or 
robot  drive  mechanism.  The  device 
can  be  used  to  automate  inanimate 
objects  or  work  as  an  integral  part  of 
a much  larger  robot  system.  The  de- 
vice seems  interesting,  and  we  have 
a promise  from  Erik  to  see  the  SET  2' 
next  April. 

Although  robots  are  interesting,  I 
must  move  on  to  two  other  subjects 
of  equal  importance,  the  first  of 
which  is  the  subject  of  clubs. 

I have  been  a HAM  for  over  twenty 
years,  and  have  belonged  to  such 


clubs  and  organizations  as  the  Den- 
ver Radio  Club,  ARRL,  Carson  Ama- 
teur Radio  Club,  and  at  one  time  the 
SCCS.  Basically,  I feel  that  the  con- 
cept of  a local  hobby  club  is  good. 
They  provide  a place  for  the  novice 
to  go  and  learn  from  more  experi- 
enced members.  Ideally,  a well  run 
club  becomes  a center  of  learning 
for  all  the  members. 

However,  I am  personally  turned 
off  by  so-called  national  or  interna- 
tional hobby  clubs,  whether  it  be  for 
amateur  radio  or  microcomputers.  It 
has  been  my  experience  that  a club 
of  this  nature  turns  into  more  of  a 
political  arena  than  a learning  center 
and,  consequently,  does  not  do  any- 
body any  good. 

It  has  been  said  that  a national 
computer  society  will  provide  the 
clout  needed  to  create  bus  and  lan- 
guage standards.  This  I believe  to  be 
so  much  hokum.  In  the  real  world, 
standards  are  set  up  by  international 
committees  that  represent  the  manu- 
facturing world.  Professional  soci- 
eties, such  as  the  IEEE,  are  very  much 
attuned  to  the  problems  of  standardi- 
zation and  are  continually  working 
to  develop  usable  standards.  A hob- 
byist group,  unless  it  is  made  up  of 
several  hundred  thousand  members 
and  has  a great  deal  of  money,  would 
not  even  be  heard. 

Therefore,  what  I would  prefer  to 
see  is  local  clubs  working  to  im- 
prove themselves,  rather  than  trying 
to  unite  into  one  large  unworkable 
club.  The  small  clubs  can  make  use 
of  the  magazines  serving  the  indus- 
try as  a vehicle  to  exchange  informa- 
tion. As  a result,  INTERFACE  AGE 
provides  the  Sense  Line  as  a forum 
for  any  computer  club  that  would 
like  to  provide  an  article.  We  not  only 
provide  the  space,  but  offer  normal 
article  payment  rates  for  the  submit- 
ted articles. 

Another  subject  that  is  important 
to  mention  is  that  of  documentation. 
There  seems  to  be  a problem  with, 
or  a lack  of  understanding  of  just  ex- 
actly what  is  required  In  documenta- 
tion. This  problem  does  not  exist 
due  to  lack  of  standardization,  (many 
texts  and  guides  have  been  published 
addressing  this  specific  area),  but 
more  to  the  lack  of  manufacturers 
and  hobbyists  alike  failing  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  correct  method  of 
telling  someone  how  to  use  what 
they  have  created. 

I receive  several  letters  a day  de- 
scribing the  problems  that  have  re- 


6 INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


suited  because  of  less  than  adequate 
documentation.  Unfortunately  there 
is  little  I,  or  INTERFACE  AGE,  can  do 
when  the  problem  is  related  to  a spe- 
cific product,  other  than  forward  the 
letter  to  the  appropriate  person  at 
the  company,  for  the  purpose  of  eli- 
citing a response  to  the  writer. 

However,  we  have  taken  some  im- 
portant steps  to  minimize  documen- 
tation problems  within  the  magazine. 
One  is  the  style  guide  which  can  be 
found  on  page  32a  of  the  March 
issue.  We  are  also  paying  more  at* 
tention  to  detail  and  have  set  up 
strict  evaluation  standards.  Hopeful- 
ly, our  efforts  and  the  efforts  of 
other  magazines  will  set  a trend,  and 
force  better  written  documentation 
to  become  available. 

Several  readers  have  requested 
the  style  guide  mentioned  in  my 
February  editorial.  As  l previously 
mentioned,  you  will  find  it  on  page 
32a  of  the  March  issue.  However,  to 
further  assist  you  in  your  writing  en- 
deavors, we  would  like  to  pinpoint 
some  of  the  areas  we  are  currently 
seeking  articles  on. 

We  would  like  to  see  stories  writ- 
ten about  the  use  of  the  microcom- 
puter in  any  business  venture.  These 
may  be  stories  on  how  you  imple- 
mented your  system  in  your  butcher 
shop,  or  how  you  use  it  in  some  form 
of  process  control  If  you  are  involved 
in  system  design,  you  might  con- 
sider a story  on  the  actual  design 
work  that  you  do. 

Also,  we  are  interested  in  stories 
related  to  the  home  use  of  the 
micro.  This  type  of  story  can  cover 
environmental  control,  as  an  exam- 
ple, and  show  the  hardware  and  soft- 
ware that  is  associated  with  the 
package. 

Of  course,  we  are  interested  in 
technology  stories,  such  as  the  101 
parameters  of  CCDs. 

The  field  of  microcomputer  tech- 
nology is  growing  every  day.  What 
we  see  now  will  be  totally  different 
tomorrow.  As  a result,  it  becomes 
impossible  to  even  guess  what  might 
be  around  the  corner.  Therefore,  if 
you  have  an  idea  for  a story,  and  are 
not  sure  if  it  fits,  send  in  an  outline. 
We  will  gladly  make  our  comments 
and  return  it  to  you.  it's  much  better 
to  have  an  outline  returned  than  a 
complete  manuscript. 

When  you  write  that  article,  and 
get  ready  to  send  it  to  INTERFACE 
AGE  for  publication,  send  it  only  to 
us.  Should  we  decide  that  we  cannot 
use  it,  we  will  return  it  immediately, 
so  you  can  submit  it  elsewhere.  The 
biggest  mistake  that  you  can  make 
as  an  author  is  to  send  your  work  in- 
to several  publications  at  once, 
bartering  for  price.  What  happens  is 
that  you  may  get  published  once, 


but  will  end  up  seeing  your  stories 
returned  on  a regular  basis. 
Remember,  the  journals  serving  this 
industry  are  being  fair  with  youT  so 
be  fair  to  the  editors. 

If  you  are  planning  an  article  do 
not  worry  about  deadlines,  unless 
you  are  contacted  to  do  a specific 
story,  at  which  time  we  will  advise 
you  of  the  deadline  dates.  Stories 
that  are  submitted  to  us  are  targeted 
to  fit  with  a specific  issue  of  the 
magazine  sometime  in  the  editorial 
year.  Stories  that  do  not  have  a 
target  date  are  held  in  the  'swamp1 
and  are  used  as  the  need  arises.  Un- 
fortunately, we  are  not  able  to  ap- 
prise authors  of  the  target  dates 
prior  to  actual  publication. 

When  your  article  is  accepted  for 
publication,  you  will  receive  a con- 
tract, and  a binder  check.  It  is  im- 
perative that  you  return  the  signed 
contract  as  quickly  as  possible  to  en- 
sure that  your  story  can  be  handled  in 
the  most  expeditious  manner.  The 
payment  figure  quoted  on  the  con- 
tract is  based  on  the  estimated  size 
of  the  story.  In  most  cases  this  figure 
will  reflect  the  actual  final  payment. 

Regarding  proof  sheets,  we  are 
presently  unable  to  provide  them 
prior  to  publication.  However,  when 
we  do  implement  this  procedure,  it 
will  be  necessary  that  you  under- 
stand their  correct  usage. 

The  proof  sheet  js  provided  to 
authors  as  a check  to  make  sure  that 
all  wording  is  correct  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  story.  The  proof  sheet 
is  not  a vehicle  to  allow  the  author  to 
rewrite  the  story,  but  merely  to  make 
minor  changes.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  editors  have  the  final 
say  on  the  article  content  and  struc- 
ture. 

in  summary,  make  sure  that  when 
you  submit  an  article  that  all  the 
parts  are  there,  and  that  it  is 
technically  correct.  Do  a fog  count, 
and  take  out  the  baloney.  Always  be 
sure  to  tell  them  what  you  want  to 
tell  them,  tell  them,  and  then  tell 
them  what  you  told  them,  DO  THE 
STORY  RIGHT  THE  FIRST  TIME.  If 
you  are  asked  to  rewrite  it,  don't 
take  affront,  but  welcome  it  as  an 
opportunity  to  improve  your  writing 
skills. 

Alright,  with  all  of  that  behind 
you,  put  the  style  guide  between 
your  computer  and  typewriter  and 
get  going. 

One  last  point,  for  those  planning 
to  write  a letter  to  the  editor.  Please 
address  it:  Letter  to  the  Editor,  INTER- 
TERFACE  AGE  Magazine,  P.Q.  Sox 
1234,  Cerritos,  CA  90701,  and  indicate 
whether  or  not  we  can  publish  your 
address,  —Carl 


Insure 


Your  Job 
Security 

Wilh  the  explosive  growth  nr  micro  processor 
designs,,  yuur  posMion  in  Ihe  held  oi  electronics  can 
become  ph^oleie  in  six  months.  Wo  at  Systems 
insigh  is  know  how  hard  n is  lo  keep  up,  *0  wo 
prepared  a hook  for  you,  Micrg/irncejisorj.  m 
walks  you  |h  rough  seven  microprocessor 
based  designs  including  both  industrial  and  con- 
sumer applications  and  special  emphasis  on  the  Hi 
family  and  ihe  new  single  chip  rmcrocompuipi, 
the  4670 
WHAT  YOU  GET 

\.  Complete  instruction^  and  explanations  lo  proto- 
type ad  designs  on  the  J I 50  Moslek  Evaluation 
Kit  including 

2 , Acorn  pule  r opera  led  sj  gn  d i s pla  y a nd  li  igh  speed 
printer  toniroHer  suitable  tor  use  as  a peripheral 
processor  and 

i FREE1  MlTOS  [the  firsl  real  time  operating  system 
tor  small  microcomputer*,!  including  a M(T£>5 
listing,  memory  dump,  How  charts,  and  stack 
manipulation  i one  no  ns  lor  up  to  50  concurrently 
active  lasks, 

4 Designs  running  under  M1TOS,  including  an 
appliance  controller  subsystem  wilh  keyboard, 
display  and  lime  ot  day;  a telephone  call  mom- 
ior  with  12  digil  storage  and  retail;  name 
recorder  sysiem  with  simultaneous  high  speed 
input,  lime  nl  day  maintenance,  I/O  tor  marring; 
asynchronous  output;  and  a muhi-iunction  audio 
signal  generator  including  beeps,  warbles,  and 
sine  wave  synthesis. 

5.  Microprocessor  Diagnostics  including  functional 
RAM  lesis  {MARCH  and  GALLON  with  failure 
prthl-oul;  bidirectional  I/O  sell  lest  wilh  failure 
prinCouC  and  on  board  ROM  verification.  You 
owe  it  lo  yoursefl.  Insure  your  job  security  and 
open  doors  lo  advancement  Buv  Abcmpraces* 
sors  in  Systems  today! 


Kush  me  .ill  t5(J  pages  nl  Mm  mjioM  cssim 
s^temv  including  die  FREE  real  time  o| ier.il mg 
system,  MlTOS 


ADDRESS 


CITS,  Sl Alt.  /11J 
Send  my  hook  COD 

D MC* 

D Visa  * 

My  check  w enclosed.  $7.50  ■<*  handling 
tevas  residents  mi  hide  the  lax. 


System  Insights 

Box  1 Austin.  Texas 
(512) 476-7599 


In  ruder  this  bunk  COD.oide  ihe  reader  series 

number  below  CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  54 


APRIL  197S 


INTERFACE  AGE  7 


Dear  Editor: 

I realize  now  what  attracts  me  to 
your  magazine;  it's  the  subtitle, 
MICROCOMPUTING  FOR  SMALL 
BUSINESS  AND  HOME.  The  text 
sure  follows  this  description. 

I’m  happy  to  see  that  publications 
in  this  field  are  starting  to  become 
more  realistic  in  portraying  the  real 
role  that  microcomptuers  will  play  in 
people’s  lives.  Through  your  pages, 
we  are  receiving  the  soft  war  solu- 
tions to  our  everyday  problems;  and 
as  a technologist,  I couldn't  be  hap- 
pier. I can’t  give  enough  praise  to  ar- 
ticles like  "Personal  Accounts  Pay- 
able Program”  and  "The  Word  Pro- 
cessor.” Routines  like  these  will  be 
the  motivating  force  behind  micro- 
computer sales;  and  once  the 
'average  Joe'  finds  that,  for  exam- 
ple, he  no  longer  has  to  sort  through 
a shoe  box  full  of  bills  every  month, 
that  there's  a better  way,  all  this 
ground  work  that  publications  like 
yours  are  doing  will  pay  off. 

The  software  section  is  the  best 
part  of  the  magazine;  however,  it  has 
one  major  shortcoming  — lack  of 
program  documentation.  I realize 
that  this  isn't  so  much  your  fault  as 
it  is  the  fault  of  your  contributors.  If 
it  was  up  to  me,  I would  have  to  in- 
sist that,  for  the  benefit  of  my 
readership,  the  authors  of  any  soft- 
ware include  the  following  items: 

1.  A flowchart  which  documents 
the  logical  flow  of  the  program. 
Also,  it  is  extremely  useful  if  line 
statement  numbers  are  indicated 
beside  each  functional  block. 

2.  A table  of  the  program  vari- 
ables, alphabetized  and  defined. 

3.  A description  of  any  BASIC 
keywords,  operators,  etc.,  that  are 
particular  to  the  brand  of  BASIC 
used  to  encode  the  program. 

Now  that  we’re  getting  the  soft- 
ware, let's  see  articles  on  the 
systems.  Maybe  the  owners  of  these 
machines  could  take  a few  minutes 
and  tell  us  all  something  about  what 
they  are  currently  using  in  the  way 
of  hardware. 

Richard  H.  Bley 
Hickory,  NC 

Richard,  do  we  have  a surprise  for 
you.  in  the  March  1978  issue  you  will 
find:  A style  guide  requesting  the  in- 
formation you  suggested t and  Dr. 


Perez's  editorial  on  program  design. 
Over  the  next  several  months  you 
wiii  see  some  very  indepth  tutorials 
on  programming  in  general  and  the 
BASIC  language  in  particular . 

— Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

I wish  to  draw  your  attention  to 
several  problems  in  the  program 
listing  for  Mr.  Michels’,  "How  To 
Buy  An  Apartment  Building”  (INTER- 
FACE AGE,  January  1978). 

In  line  1070,  the  correct  multiplier 
would  be  1.5,  not  1.25  as  shown.  In 
line  1020,  the  THEN  destination 
should  be  line  1060,  not  1020  again. 
However,  until  the  problem  noted  in 
the  paragraph  below  is  fixed,  this  in- 
finite loop  Is  of  no  consequence, 
since  there  is  no  path  line  to  line 
1020. 

This  more  serious  error  is  that  an- 
nual allocation  of  personal  property 
depreciation  is  not  added  to  the 
allocation  of  building  depreciation 
at  line  1080.  All  run  examples  in  the 
article  contain  erroneous  "Deprecia- 
tion" and  "Taxable"  values.  This  er- 
ror is  caused  by  incorrect  GOTG's  at 
lines  890,  920  and  950.  To  correct 
the  situation,  delete  line  950  and 
change  lines  890  and  920  to  "GOTO 
960.” 

Another,  possibly  interpreter-re- 
lated problem,  is  that  "T"  is  used 
both  as  a variable  and  an  array 
name.  Our  TEKTRONIX  4051  treats 
all  unsubscripted  references  to  an 
array  name  as  pertaining  to  each  ele- 
ment of  the  array.  To  isolate  these 
references,  I substituted  the 
variable  T1  for  T in  lines  1140  and 
1150.  In  line  1460,  I used  T9  for  T, 
and  printed  T9  In  line  1760. 

The  program  as  modified  appears 
now  to  be  running  correctly,  and 
should  be  of  great  value  to  those 
persons  wishing  to  optimize  their 
real  estate  investments. 

Owen  Carlson 
North  Stoning  ton,  CT 

Owen,  thank  you  for  pointing  out  the 
indicated  errors f the  program  was 
evaluated  by  an  outside  source,  and 
passed  as  okay.  Still , we  offer  no  ex- 
cuses. Thanks  for  the  corrections. 

— Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

f saved  a shopping  back  full  of 


literature  picked  up  at  Atlantic  City 
for  winter  reading,  so  I just  discov- 
ered INTERFACE  AGE.  I haven’t 
been  able  to  put  it  down  since.  Here 
is  a check  for  a subscription. 

[ particularly  liked  the  detailed 
advertisements,  August  1977,  issue. 
Concerning  the  Sidereaf/Solar  Clock 
by  John  O.  Bumgarner,  i am  sure 
there  are  uses  for  this  program,  but 
for  the  North  Atlantic  Captain- 
Navigator  of  aircraft  in  1940-41 
(WWII).  What  we  did  was  set  one 
navigator’s  watch  to  sidereal  time, 
and  have  a good  draftman  mark  it  to 
read  degrees  @ 15°  per  hour. 
Another  watch  is  set  at  GMT,  since 
DIB  and  ETA's  are  expected  in  solar 
time. 

Where  is  there  a good  glossary  of 
abbreviations  and  acronyms? 

Grafton  Carlisle 
Burlington,  VT 

Thanks  for  the  nice  words , Grafton . 
You  might  contact  the  book  publish- 
ers advertised  in  this  issue  for  infor- 
mation on  a good  glossary . 

— Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

J would  like  to  respond  to  some  of 
the  points  mentioned  in  a letter  from 
Don  Walters  on  page  49  of  the  Janu- 
ary 1978  issue  of  INTERFACE  AGE. 
The  letter  concerned  the  $-100  bus. 

First,  as  is  mentioned,  many 
manufacturers  do  produce  equip- 
ment which  is  "S-100  bus  compat- 
ible." This  is  in  quotation  marks 
because  nowhere  is  the  S-1G0  bus 
rigorously  defined.  This  lack  of  defi- 
nition allows  several  products  on 
the  market  today,  all  to  be  "3-100 
bus  compatible,"  but  to  be  incom- 
patible among  themselves. 

Second,  Mr.  Waiters  points  to  the 
16  lines  not  specified  by  Altaic  as 
an  advantage  since  they  can  be  used 
in  the  future  for  signals  not  consid- 
ered necessary  when  the  bus  was 
designed.  These  16  lines  have  turn- 
ed into  a double-edged  sword,  how- 
ever, since  whenever  a manufacturer 
designs  a new  board  which  needs  a 
new  line,  he  will  pick  one  of  the  16  at 
random,  even  though  some  other 
manufacturer  might  have  picked  it 
for  some  other  signal.  Again,  incom- 
patibilities occur. 

Lastly,  Mr.  Walters  wonders  why 
no  one  has  come  up  with  a 6800  or 


8 INTERFACE  AGE 


APRH  1978 


6502  board  for  the  S-100  bus.  A 
quick  look  at  the  signals  available 
on  the  bus  and  those  generated  by  a 
6800  or  6502  should  answer  this 
question.  There  are  just  foo  many 
signals  on  the  S-100  bus  and  most  of 
them  are  unique  to  the  8080  pro- 
cessor. For  the  last  year  I have  been 
homebrewing  a 6800  computer  on 
the  S-100  bus  (or  at  least,  as  close  as 
I can  come)  and  l can  verify  that  to 
make  an  S-100  bus  6800  card  (or 
because  of  its  similarity,  a 6502 
card)  completely  compatible  with 
even  a majority  of  the  products  on 
the  market  today  would  be  nearly  im- 
possible. Evidence  for  this  is  the 
fact  that  even  MITS  didn't  use  the 
same  bus  when  they  made  a 
6800-based  computer. 

In  conclusion,  I feel  that  it  is  un- 
fortunate that  the  S-100  bus  has  be- 
come as  much  of  a standard  as  it 
has.  It  is  possibly  an  acceptable  bus 
for  an  8080  or  Z-80  system,  but  is 
hopeless  for  most  other  processors. 
Since  it  has  become  the  “standard" 
for  hobbyists,  hobbyists  are  some- 
what locked  into  the  8080  and  Z-80 
and  can't  get  experience  with  many 
of  the  other  excellent  processors  on 
the  market.  Bruce  A.  Anderson 
San  Diego,  CA 

Very  interesting,  and  I both  agree 
and  disagree  with  you.  First,  incom- 
patibility does  exist  with  S-100  type 
cards,  and  this  is  due  to  a lack  of 
standardization  among  manufactur- 
ers. Second,  you  can  put  a card  de- 
signed for  the  S-100  bus  on  the  6800 
bus,  if  you  are  willing  to  due  some 
surgery.  —Carl 

Dear  Mr.  Turner: 

I have  recently  studied  the  “Gen- 
eral Ledger"  program  published  in 
your  September  1977  issue  on  a 
“Floppy  ROM”.  INTERFACE  AGE  is 
offering  an  extremely  valuable  ser- 
vice to  its  readers  in  the  essentially 
“free"  publication  of  software  of 
such  complexity  and  quality.  I appre- 
ciate the  enormous  amount  of  work 
required  both  to  write  the  program 
and  to  produce  the  "Floppy  ROM." 
However,  this  great  service  and 
enormous  amount  of  labor  are  of  ab- 
solutely no  value  to  me,  or  to  most 
of  your  readers,  because  we  do  not 
happen  to  own  an  “Altair,”  and  thus 
can  not  decode  the  very  peculiar 


"mnemonic  BASIC”  you  have  used 
in  recording  the  “Floppy  ROM.” 
What  a waste! 

Of  course,  I can  (and  probably 
will)  rewrite  the  whole  program  from 
your  three-part  article.  But,  if  I have 
to  duplicate  all  the  work  that  went 
into  the  "General  Ledger,”  then  your 
labor  has  given  me  very  little  service 
indeed. 

I thought  that  one  of  the  major  ob- 
jectives of  "higher  level  languages" 
was  to  produce  “machine  independ- 
ent code.”  By  recording  your  “Flop- 
py ROM”  in  a code  that  only  “Altair" 
can  read,  you  have  totally  defeated 
this  purpose. 

Ordinary  BASIC  would  be  great, 
but  this  "mnemonic  BASIC"  you 
have  used  is  of  even  less  widespread 
use  than  any  particular  machine  lan- 
guage. If  you  had  recorded  the  pro- 
gram in  8080  machine  language,  you 
would  have  increased  the  number  of 


readers  who  could  use  the  “Floppy 
ROM"  by  a factor  of  10  or  more! 
How  many  home  computers  use 
8080  or  Z-80  CPUs,  and  could  thus 
use  a program  encoded  in  8080 
machine  language?  Now,  how  many 
can  decode  Altair’s  peculiar 
“mnemonic  BASIC”?  Why  bother 
writing  programs  In  BASIC,  which  is 
slower  and  bulkier  than  machine 
code,  if  you  are  going  to  publish 
them  in  a form  that  most  computers 
can’t  interpret? 

I would  like  to  offer  you  my  com- 
mendation and  appreciation  for 
such  pioneering  work  in  making 
software  available  to  home  com- 
puterists.  I hope  that  future  efforts 
can  be  published  in  a form  which  is 
usable  by  a larger  percentage  of 

your  readers.  , „ 

J.  Craig  Lewis 

Peninsula,  OH 

Branched  to  Next  Page 


The  All  New! 

Personal  & Small 
Business  Computer 

Expo 


Plan 

To 

Exhibit 


ti 


South” 


Plan 

To 

Attend 


May  19-21,1978, Exposition  Park 
Orlando,  Florida 


For  Details  Call  Or  Write: 

Felsburg  Associates,  lnc.(30l) 262-0305 
P.O.Box  735.  Bowie.Md..  20715 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  23 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  9 


Yes,  but  wasn't  the  concept  grand? 
You  are  not  the  first  to  mention  that 
there  are  difficulties  in  using  the 
Floppy  ROM , Therefore f the  engi ■ 
neers  are  working  to  make  the  ROM 
usable  by  just  about  everyone,  and 
as  they  reach  that  goal,  it  will  appear 
in  the  pages  of  INTERFACE  AGE. 

—BUI 

Dear  Editor: 

I am  very  interested  in  developing 
dedicated  educational  uses  of  micro- 
computers. My  background  has 
been  and  is  in  secondary  schools  as 
teacher  and  administrator.  I would 
like  to  identify  persons  who  also  be- 
lieve that  education  can  and  should 
benefit  from  technology  (in  particu- 
lar, microcomputers)  and  have  the 
technical  know-how  to  indicate  how 
some  creative  uses  of  microcompu- 
ters might  be  implemented.  Can  you 
offer  any  suggestions?  I would  ap- 
preciate any  leads:  names  of  per- 
sons, groups,  etc. 

Brother  Eugene  Meyerpeter,  S,M, 
Marianist  Educational  Associates 
1223  Mayhurst  Dr. 

St.  Louis,  MO  63122 

Brother  Meyerpeter,  i really  want  to 
answer  your  letter  indepth,  but  am 
unable  to  for  lack  of  concise  infor- 
mation. Consequently,  we  are  pub- 
lishing your  address  with  hopes  that 
readers  with  the  same  idea  witl  con- 
tact you.  Also,  we  will  be  publishing 
an  issue  that  Is  geared  primarily  to 
using  the  micro  in  education . 

—Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

I learned  a lot  from  the  first  issue  I 
read  of  INTERFACE  AGE  (January 
78)  and  took  forward  to  future  issues. 
Since  Judy  and  Larry  Robertson 
panned  Interfacing  Selectrics  to 
Microcomputers,  perhaps  they 
could  recommend  an  alternative.  In 
the  same  issue  was  an  advertise* 
ment  for  a Sharp  & Associates  Con- 
version Kit  (Page  14,  RS  No.  47),  Is 
that  kit  adequate? 

John  Hemphill 
Takoma  Park,  MD 

John , you  must  remember  that  a re- 
view is  only  the  views  of  one  or  two 
people.  You  will  notice  that  we  have 
a letter  from  the  authors , answering 
the  review . Personally , / do  not  know 
of  a better  source  to  go  to. 

— Editor 


Dear  Editor: 

Your  review  of  our  book  interfac- 
ing Selectrics  to  Microcomputers 
had  a few  errors,  and  if  possible, 
wefd  like  to  clarify. 

We  designed  the  interface  be- 
cause at  the  time  (April,  1977)  there 
was  no  selectric  interface  on  the 

/ 


market.  We  were  doing  a lot  of  cor- 
respondence and  writing  and  need- 
ed the  selectric  on  our  microcom- 
puter. 

Our  selectric  operated  eight 
months  with  the  interface  under 
heavy  usage  with  NO  down  time. 
The  repair  at  eight  months  was 


SUPPORT  YOUR 
LOCAL 

COMPUTER  STORE 


We  could  have  run  an  ad  that  said  “buy  your  books 
directly  from  us"  but  that’s  not  to  your  advantage.  If 
you  look  at  our  books  at  a computer  store  you  can 
decide  which  ones  meet  your  needs.  We  know  that 
you  will  decide  on  two  or  three  and  actually  use  them. 
That’s  our  goal,  use!  The  more  you  know  about  micro- 
computers the  more  you’ll  want  to  know  and  that  is 
good  for  you,  for  your  local  computer  store  and  for  us. 
If  you  don’t  know  the  name  of  your  local  computer 
store,  send  us  your  name  and  address.  We’ll  tell  them 
your  name  and  we'll  tell  you  their  name.  Once  you  two 
get  together,  be  sure  to  look  at  some  of  the  books  on 
the  next  page. 


dilithium  Press 
30  NW  23rd  Place 
P.O.  Box  10766 
Portland,  OR  97210 


10  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


minor  — a solenoid  readjustment. 
We  challenge  any  current  manufac- 
turer with  this  record.  We're  still  us- 
ing the  system, 

Our  interface  can  be  used  in  a 
completely  closed  loop  mode.  We 
haven’t  wired  ours  this  way  because 
our  repairman  says  that  the  wear  in 


our  current  partially  closed  loop 
mode  is  minimal  and  clutch  replace- 
ment, if  necessary,  is  a minor  repair 
job.  We've  processed  two  books  and 
hundreds  of  letters  with  the 
machine.  We’re  now  working  on  two 
more  books  with  it. 

Our  circuit  does  have  some  over- 


THE 

ANSWER  BOOKS 

FOR 

HOME 

COMPUTER  ! 
HOBBYISTS-  J 

HOME  COMPUTERS:  210 
QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS 

by  Rich  Didday 

Volume  1:  Hardware 
This  book  is  for  the  person  with 
a micro-computer  who  wants  to 
get  an  idea  of  what  it  can  be  like 
to  use  it  to  the  fullest.  $7.95  77 

Volume  2:  Software 
A companion  volume  to  the 
above  book,  this  guide  leads 
the  new  micro  owner  through 
the  thorny  problems  surround- 
ing the  selection  and  use  of 
software.  $6.95  77 

STEP  BY  STEP  INTRODUCTION 
TO  8080  MICROPROCESSOR 
SYSTEMS 

by  David  Cohn  and  James  Meisa 
This  is  a more  advanced  book 
which  wilt  show  you  how  to  put 
together  what  you've  learned  to 
build  systems  and  applications 
that  really  exploit  the  capabili- 
ties of  your  micro.  $7.95  77 


HOME  COMPUTERS:  A 
BEGINNER’S  GLOSSARY 
AND  GUIDE 

by  Merl  M lifer  and  Charles  Sippl 
This  book  provides  the  funda- 
mental knowledge  and  skills  for 
the  new  micro  owner.  Written  in 
a lively  and  straightforard  style, 
It  takes  the  mystery  out  of  the 
basic  mathematical  and  logical 
principles  involved  in  working 
with  computers.  $6.95  77 

TAKE  A CHANCE  WITH 
YOUR  CALCULATOR 

by  Lennart  Rada 
This  book  was  written  to  help 
you  discover  the  word  of  prob- 
ability with  your  programmable 
calculator.  You  will  need  no 
previous  experience  either  in 
probability  theory  or  in  pro- 
gramming to  fearn  both  from 
this  book.  It  Is  self-paced  so 
that  you  can  teach  yourself  the 
variety  of  games  and  applica- 
tions It  includes.  $8.95  77 

INTRODUCTION  TO  BASIC 

by  Jeffery  6.  Morton 
An  introductory  BASIC  that 
covers  all  the  topics  in  simple, 
easy-to-understand  language. 
Nothing  is  left  out,  everything 
is  presented  in  clear,  step-by- 
step  fashion.  This  book  will 
make  a good  BASIC  program- 
mer of  any  reader.  $6.95 

BEGINNING  BASIC 
by  Paul  Chlrlian 
Designed  for  the  person  who 
has  essentially  no  experience 
with  computers  or  computer 
programming,  this  book  is  both 
elementary— so  that  you  can  fol- 
low It  easily,  and  complete— so 
that  you  will  become  familiar 
with  all  aspects  of  BASIC.  $9.95 


<P 


Price  a subject  lo  change  wit  haul  notice. 

dilithium  Press 
30  NW  23rd  Place 
P.O.  Box  10766 
Portland,  OR  97210 


Publishing  personal  computing  books  Is  our  business! 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  17 


kill  features,  but  most  of  these  did 
not  affect  production  costs  and 
were  left  in  as  part  of  the  circuit. 

The  only  problem  in  our  current 
circuit  is  the  lack  of  any  lookahead 
feature,  We  plan  to  add  this  in  1978 
and  will  probably  include  this  In  the 
next  edition  of  the  book, 

The  current  book  price  is  $14  due 
to  increased  printing  costs.  The  in- 
terface is  also  available,  as  well  as 
assembled  terminals.  (Yes,  this  let- 
ter is  typed  on  the  system!) 

Carl  Townsend 
Portland,  OR 

See,  Carl,  having  your  book  reviewed 
isn't  all  bad.  At  least  you  are  getting 
the  chance  to  add  your  personal 
comments.  —Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

The  Bible  contains  about  3.5 
million  characters  and  it  obviously 
would  be  a large  data  entry  task  to 
translate  this  into  computer  format. 
Thus,  I have  made  this  attempt  to 
solicit  help  from  others  in  mutual 
sharing  of  the  effort  to  place  the 
KJV  into  computer  format.  Possibly 
later  other  versions  could  also  be 
computerized. 

Also  needed  will  be  a text  editing- 
word  processing  program  to  handle 
the  storage,  retrieval  and  updating 
of  reference  notes  relating  to  the 
various  Bible  verses.  The  ability  to 
cross  reference  and  display  verses 
which  contains  related  information 
is  desired  and  will  be  a task  to  pro- 
gram, which  possibly  could  be  bet- 
ter handled  by  a mutual  sharing  of 
effort.  There  could  be  a problem  of 
incompatibility  between  systems  to 
be  worked  out. 

Once  the  data  base  and  the  pro- 
gramming is  established,  it  should 
be  possible  to  use  it  to  cross  check 
references,  and  comments  to  see  if 
there  are  any  Bible  verses  to  support 
or  to  oppose  the  subject  under  con- 
sideration. Also,  a check  can  be 
made  of  any  comments  already 
entered  into  the  data  base  regarding 
an  explanation  of  the  reference 
under  consideration. 

Another  possible  use  could  be  the 
use  of  the  original  Greek  and 
Hebrew  texts  to  check  out  Transla- 
tion accuracy  and  other  problems. 

If  you  are  interested  in  taking  part 
in  this  effort,  or  know  of  someone 
who  would  be  interested,  or  if  you 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  11 


know  where  some  of  the  above 
goals  have  already  been  accom- 
plished, please  contact  me. 

Larry  E.  Ellison 
19  Huntington  Lane 
Wilingboro,  NJ  08046 

This  is  an  unusual  application,  that  I 
don't  think  anyone  else  has  ad- 
dressed. So  if  any  of  you  can  give 
Larry  some  input,  please  write 
directly  to  him.  —Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

As  a DP  professional,  I view  the 
announcement  of  the  new  10  to  100 
meg.  disk  drive  memory  sub-sys- 
tems ( Electronics , Jan.  1978,  Vol.  5, 
No.  2,  p.  33)  with  mixed  feelings. 

This  development  will  at  last  put 
true  workable  mass  storage  within 
the  reach  of  countless  users  who 
could  not  otherwise  avail  themselves 
of  this  much-needed  capacity.  The 
believably  low  $2,000.00  price  tag 
generates  an  enormous  market 
potential. 

These  new  drives  may  cause  an 
even  larger  revolution  in  data  pro- 
cessing than  the  introduction  of 
microprocessors,  both  for  the  indus- 
try by  the  elimination  of  high  price 
tags  and  software  headaches  caused 
by  too  much  data  and  too  little  stor- 
age; and  for  the  users,  as  a whole 
slew  of  new  applications  and  data 
management  tools  present  them- 
selves at  an  affordable  price. 

A computer  system  that  is  easy  to 
sell  and  easy  to  program,  is  a soft- 
ware house’s  or  OEM  's  dream.  There 
is,  however,  a danger  that  this  dream 
will  turn  into  a nightmare.  My  con- 
cern is  based  on  two  major  points. 

First,  are  the  limitations  inherent 
in  fixed  disk  systems.  When  a disk 
fails,  (as  all  do  as  some  point,  either 
through  hardware  fatigue  or  soft- 
ware and  operator  errors),  there 
arises  a problem  of  data  recupera- 
tion. In  removable  disk  systems,  ex- 
ternal backups  can  be  made  and  re- 
mounted. Data  loss  is  limited  to  en- 
tries made  since  the  backup’s  crea- 
tion. Start-up  time  is  the  time  it 
takes  to  get  the  disk  back  up  and 
running.  A fixed  disk  system  calls 
for  backup  onto  an  external  device, 
which  can  be  a very  slow  process,  or 
by  one  hundred  percent  redundancy; 
namely,  buying  two  drives,  and  us- 
ing one  for  backup  purposes. 

Due  to  the  impracticality  of  back- 


ing up  ten  to  one  hundred  meg.  of 
data  on  diskette  or  cassette  (ask  any 
S/I  user),  the  only  practical  solution 
is  redundancy.  The  problem  is  that 
the  low  cost  of  these  drives  wiil 
open  whole  new  markets  of  unsophis- 
ticated users  who  will  not  see  the 
need  for  buying  two  drives  until  they 
call  to  cancel  orders  or  sue  because 
they  have  lost  valuable  data.  Nobody 
needs  this  kind  of  aggravation. 

In  order  to  protect  both  the  users 
and  the  industry,  the  drives  must  be 
designed  with  at  least  a backup  sur- 
face for  data  recovery. 

Second,  a 100-meg.  drive  is  a 100- 
meg.  drive,  and  the  software  must 
be  treated  as  such.  Inadequate  disk 
management  systems  are  inexcus- 
able, since  the  necessary  software 
tools  already  exist.  These  devices 
will  have  to  be  provided  with  the  pro- 
per routines,  i.e.,  dynamic  disk  allo- 
cation, catalogs  and  catalog-path 
file  allocation,  binary  files,  spool 
and  random  access  files,  hash/se- 
quential and  multi-key  indexed/se- 
quential files  (with  keys  in  separate 
files),  record  oriented  I/O  and  cylin- 
drical allocations  in  multi-surface 
systems. 

The  most  sensible  solution  is  to 
take  the  standard  routines  and  some 
diagnostic  tourines,  put  them  in 
ROM  with  a dedicated  microproces- 
sor, thereby  making  the  drive  intelli- 
gent, and  to  offer  the  controllers 
with  serial,  parallel  and  DMA  inter- 
faces for  the  major  bus  configura- 
tions (that  includes  the  S-100  Bus). 

Even  if  these  steps  triple  the  price 
of  the  drive,  it  still  results  in  a vast 
improvement  over  present  prices. 
These  steps  will  also  ensure  the 
smooth  and  painless  creation  of 
new  and  lucrative  markets  as  well  as 
rapid  acceptance  by  existing 
markets. 

I hope  the  manufacturers  will  act 
on  my  recommendations,  as  I write 
this  not  as  criticism,  but  merely  with 
a critical  eye.  The  only  problems 
which  don't  occur  are  the  ones  that 
are  foreseen  and  presented. 

Charles  A.  Rovira 
Adeiphi 
2250  Grand  Blvd„  #21 
Montreal,  Quebec, 
Canada  H4B  2W9 

Charles,  your  letter  is  very  interest- 
ing, and  brings  up  some  important 
points.  Not  only  are  we  publishing 


QClpha 

^"'csogySTEmS 


DEALERS 


ARIZONA 
PHQENDt 
Byte  Shop  of 
(602) I6MO&5 
TEMPE 
Byre  Shop  of 
(642)467-1*21 
TUCSON 
Byte  Simp  or 
IMS*  327-4579 

CALIFORNIA 

COSTA  MESA 
Chana*  COurly 
Computer  Cental 
l?  Ml  6*64221 
LAWNDALE 
Byta  Sltap 
f2l3|  371-2*21 

mission  viejo 

COmputftrUnrl 
{71*|  7704131 
ORANGE 


PARKVlLLE 
Computer  Workshop 
Iflifl)  741-5055 


GERMANY 
MUNICH 
Ditsuneg  KG 


[2t)1J  2&3-4604 


[714)  KL3-1223 
PALO  ALTO 
Byte  Simp  or 
[J  IS)  327-flQM- 
PASADENA 


CLEVELAND 
Byte  Shoe  of 
(216)  3“  — 


HONG  KONG 
CAUSEWAY  BAY 
T&IMC 
5701-0051 

JAPAN 

TOKYO 

Nihon  Terminal  COflljwItf 
Tokyo  l7n 

SPAIN 

BARCELONA 


ZURICH 
ComlCro.  AG- 
IO 1)242-2603 


CARACAS 
E.D.C.  MEGA,  C A. 


Brio  Shop  qI 

BEAVERTON 

[213)08*3311 

Byte  Shoo  of 

SAN  DIEGO 

(5431  0*4-2080 

Computer  Cantor 

EUGENE 

[71*|  292-5302 

Rail  Oregon 

SAN  RAFAEL 

Computar  CP, 

Byl*  Shop  Pi 

(543)  *34-10*0 

[455)457-3311 

PORTLAND 

SANTA  ANA 

Byte  Shoo  of 

Advanced 

Microcomputer 

(503j  22G3*90 

Products 

PENNSYLVANIA 

(71*)5&B-M13 

SURGETT&TOWN 

SANTA  BARBARA 

Businas*  Computer 

Brio  Shop  ol 

Concepts 

1,305)  HHS3B 
SANTA  MONICA 

(412)  &B1-7&33 

Mleupn  Cental 

TEXAS 

[21JH32&&137 

FORT  WORTH 

The  Computer  Slot* 

Tandy  Compuieui 

(215)  *51 4ns 

jfl  1 7)  315  -Ti  £$ 

TARZANA 

HOUSTON 

Tech  Man 

electronic  SpocHllyCO. 

(313)34+4153 

(713)  664-4*77 

VAN  NUYS 

LUBBOCK 

Computar 

CdlWflutfr  Mart  Ol 

ComprHMnta 

Weal  Texas 

[213)34*4153 

(6*1  765713* 
RICHARDSON 

COLORADO 

The  Micro  SLpre 

DENVER 
Computer  Hui 

f2n)23i-irae 

[Prime  Radix) 

UTAH 

1303)  57MS95 

SALT  LAKE  CITY 

Byifl  snjp  or 

Byte  Shod  ol 

[303)  3946905 

[Sfli ) 351- lQ*  1 
Dpi*  World 

CONNECTICUT 

HAMDEN 

(00 1 k 9 43 <44  XT 

JRY  Computer  Biota 

WASHINGTON 

1203)  801.1453 

BELLEVUE 
Byte  Strop  ol 

FLORIDA 

coral  -Gables 

iXty  7*6-0651 

Simny  Computer 

WISCONSIN 

Store*,  Inc. 

MILWAUKEE 

{MS)  B51-6W2 

The  Milwaukee 

FORT  LAUDERDALE 

Computer  510** 

Brie  Shop  of 
[305)  501-2983 

(414)  259-91*0 

HIALEAH 

WYOMING 

Mclrc-nlr  Computar*.  me. 

JACKSON 

1345)  935-4700 

Teton  Data  System* 

MIAMI 

Byte  Shop  or 
(305)  25*2083 

tam  733-6313 

ILLINOIS 

AUSTRALIA 

CHAMPAIGN 

GORDON 

Champaign 

Tfwdat*  Pacific 

Computer  CO. 

445*706 

f2l7)  359-5833 

WEST  PERTH 

EVANSTON 

Australian  Computer 

Illy  Billy  Machine  Co. 

Product* 

fSlZ)  320-SMM 

(49!  322-6*07 
ALICE  SPRINGS 

INDIANA 

Microcomputer  System* 

BLOOMINGTON 

Alice  Springs,  NT 

Pnta  Domain 

WORTH  FREMANTLE 

(012.1  334-3607 

James  MtUny  8 Son 

INDIANAPOLIS 

35*677 

Data  Domain 

NORTH  SYDNEY 

Kinpsumy  Computers 

Computer*  Unlimited 
pm  HUGH 

429-9441 

BELGIUM 

KANSAS 

BRUSSELS 

OVERLAND-  PARK 

Computar  Fteiourtn  ? 

Personal  Comjnjtai 
Cofltaf,  Inc. 

fOT)  WM033 
CANADA 

MARYLAND 

TORONTO 

ROCKVILLE 

Tha  Computer  Race 

Computar  Workshop- 

(*  16]  5984262 

1341 ) 448-0*55 

VANCOUVER 
By  te  Shop  or 

MASSACHUSETTS 

|«M) 

WALTHAM 

Pacific  Computer 

Computar  Marl 

Slow,  Lid- 

pi  Boslon 
(617)049  4540 

fUMM  36-3262 
ENGLAND 

MICHIGAN 

SALFORD,  MANCHESTER 

ANN  ARBOR 
Computar  store  ol 

Computer  Design  Sysl«nE 

(3131 405-761  & 

FRANCE 

ROYAL  OAK 

PARIS 

Computar  Man  o( 

Computer  BouUgue 

(313)  57M9HJ- 

310-095-447 

12  INTERFACE  AGE 


MEMORY 
\ MANAGEMENT 


MULTI-USER 

TIME-SHARING 


HARD-DISK 

SUB-SYSTEM 


& 


emg 


MULTI-TASKING 


THE  16-BIT  MICRO 


Introducing  the  AM-100,m.  an  S-100  bus  compatible 
16-bit  microprocessor  board  set  replacing  8 -bit  based 
processors.  This  CPU  two  board  set  offers  multi* 
user/ multi-tasking  timesharing  in  an  advanced  disk 
operating  system.  It  provides  16-bit  flexibility  and 
speed  with  1 1 digit  floating  point  arithmetic  while  sup- 
porting many  of  the  economical  5-100  bus  peripher- 
als such  as  static  memory,  memory  paging  and  I/O 
facilities- 

COMPLETE  DEVICE  INDEPENDENCE 

Utilizing  Western  Digitals  WD-16  processor,  the 
AM -100  ^incorporates  a real-time  clock,  offers  com- 
plete device  independence,  disk  file  management 
system  and  utilities,  multi- user  structured  file  system 
with  pass  words,  extended  compiler  and  reentrant 
software,  multi-level  DMA  and  vectored  interrupt 
system.  For  large  timesharing  applications,  the 
AM-100tTFl  not  only  can  utilize  hard  disk  storage  and 
access  (AM-400,tT\  AM-500lm),  but  also  has  incor- 
porated a memory  management  system  allowing 


SOFTWARE  INCLUDED 

AN  software  is  licensed  to  the  board  set  as  part  of 
the  system.  The  AM-I00t1in  two  board  CPU  set 
includes  along  with  its  operating  system  AMGStm  & 
multi-pass  Macro- Assembler.  ALPHABASIC™  com- 
piler, ALPHALISP^,  ALPHAFORTH,n\  ALPHA- 
PASCAL^,  SORT,  ISAM  and  other  various  utilities. 
Write  or  cal]  us  for  the  location  of  your  nearest 
Alpha  Microsystems  Dealer, 

C (LPHA 

v'v«rai0SYSTEmS 

17875N  Sky  Park  North 
Irvine,  California  92714 
Phone:  (714)957-1404 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  1 


partitions  up  to  64k* bytes. 


I 


your  fetter ■ and  address ; we  have  for - 
warded  a copy  fo  several  disk  manu - 
/acfurers.  —Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

I read  your  article  on  the  Video 
Brain  in  February's  INTERFACE  AGE. 
Could  you  answer  or  tell  me  who  to 
write  to  to  answer  the  questions  I 
have? 

WiM  the  VideoBrain  work  in  BASIC 
or  some  other  language?  Can  the 
cassettes  used  in  the  VideoBrain  be 
programmed  by  the  user?  If  so  how 
many  bytes  (max)  can  be  put  on? 
Where  can  I get  a list  of  the  add  on 
features  and  prices? 

H.P.  Bodnar 
Pittsburgh,  PA 

Mr.  Bodnar,  the  VideoBrain  does  not 
use  BASIC,  and  the  cassettes  are 
read  only  memories  and  not  pro- 
grammable by  the  user.  Look  in  the 
new  products  section  of  the  Febru- 
ary issue  for  the  address  of  Video 
Brain . — Editor 


Dear  Editor: 

At  the  Coloma  High  school  we 
have  a Computer  Center,  In  our 
center  we  have  eight  different 
systems,  plus  a 3M  model  test 
scorer.  These  use  four  different 
BASfGs  as  well  as  a number  of  dif- 
ferent ways  of  storing  programs. 
The  BASICs  we  use  are: 

1.  Poly  Extended  version  A00 

2 . Imsai  CPM  system  BASIC-E 
version  1.33 

3.  Altair  SK  version  4 

4.  North  Star  BASIC 

The  storage  systems  we  use  are: 

1.  Poly  88  Byte  Base  Cassette 
recording  system 

2.  Imsai  dual  Floppy  Disk  system 
with  CPM 

3.  Tarbelf  Cassette  recording 
system 

4.  North  Star  Mini  Floppy  Disk 
system 

5.  Standard  Paper  Tape 

We  feel  that  it  is  necessary  to  set 


up  a software  library  bet  wen  school 
systems  using  microcomputer  equip* 
ment.  This  would  give  schools  a 
chance  to  exchange  programs  and 
ideas,  and  to  help  other  schools  just 
getting  started,  by  sending  them 
already  working  programs  such  as 
games,  memory  tests,  grading  pro- 
grams, and  other  material.  We  can 
provide  programs  to  other  schools 
in  any  of  the  above  formats,  and 
would  be  willing  to  act  as  a center  to 
publish  all  available  computer  pro- 
grams for  schools,  providing  other 
school  systems  are  willing  to  share 
in  this  idea  and  trade  programs.  Any 
interested  hobbyists  who  have  pro- 
grams to  share  with  schools  would 
be  welcomed. 

Terri  Learner 
Coloma  Computer  Club 
Co!oma  Community  Schools 
Coloma,  Ml  49038 

An  interesting  and  heipful  idea . 
Hopefully  severaf  of  our  readers  will 
take  you  up  on  your  offer . 

— Editor 


14  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


tomorrow’s  computer  here  today  . . . 


INTERFACE  AGE  15 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  15 


^ fnWH^n^nl 


For  details  write  or  call  today. 


Digital  tape  based  starts  at  $1935  kit. 
Delivery  within  60  days. 


P.O.  Bo*  6528  Denver,  CO  80206  13031  777-7103 


Dear  Editor: 

Might  I be  permitted  to  mention  a 
very  few  small  errors  in  the  editoriat 
on  page  62  of  the  January  issue, 
concerning  my  word  processor? 

The  80-column  line  printer  is  not 
required;  any  72-column  printer  or 
terminal  will  work.  The  CRT  terminal 
is  not  required  if  the  printer  has  a 
keyboard.  There  are  no  ,,LPR!NT',s 
in  the  program.  Memory  should  be 
about  20K  of  usable  RAM  after  the 
interpreter, is  loaded. 

Also,  several  times  in  the  article 
"v"  was  used  to  re-enter  a line.  It 
should  be  a Otherwise  you 

seem  to  have  done  an  excellent  job 
of  reproducing  my  article  and  pro- 
gram. 

I hope  these  small  errors  haven't 
frightened  off  any  potential  users  of 
the  program. 

Ken  Knecht 
Yuma,  AZ 

Ken,  I owe  you  an  apology,  The 
editorial  on  how  to  load  the  Floppy 
ROM  was  paraphrased  from  Bill  Tur- 
ner's. Your  listings  were  typeset,  and 
that  was  why  the  * was  inverted. 
—Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

I wanted  to  write  to  specifically 
praise  Mr.  Osborne’s  monthly  com- 
munication in  INTERFACE  AGE. 
This  must  be  a classic  in  providing 
clear,  concise,  accurate  information 
in  a sometimes  confusing  scene.  I 
wait  anxiously  each  month  for  IN- 
TERFACE AGE  and  the  first  thing 
that  I turn  to  is  Mr.  Osborne's  article. 
I had  seen  relatively  little  praise  for 
“From  the  Fountainhead"  in  your 
letters  and  wanted  to  emphasize  my 
appreciation. 

Robert  C.  Luckey,  M.D. 

Richland,  WA 

We  thank  you,  and  Adam  thanks  you. 

— Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

I would  like  to  point  out  an  un- 
documented “feature"  of  the 
BLOCKADE  game  in  your  November 
1977  issue.  The  invisible  wall  that 
surrounds  most  of  the  screen  has  a 
hole  in  it  at  the  left  of  the  bottom 
line  of  the  screen  and  at  the  right  of 
the  next  to  bottom  line.  If  one  of  the 
cursors  is  directed  to  pass  through 
one  of  these  holes,  the  cursor  will 
wrap  around  the  the  opposite  side  of 


the  screen  rather  than  ending  the 
game.  The  holes  can  be  patched  by 
changing  the  following  lines  of  the 
PL/M  program: 

Replace:  25200 

DO  TESTADR  = QCCOQH  TO  OCF4QH  BY  40H; 
With:  25200 

DO  TESTADR  ^ OCCOQH  TO  OCFCQH  BY  40H] 
Replace:  25700 

DO  TESTADR  = 0CC3FH  TO  OCF7FH  BY  40H; 
With:  25700 

DO  TESTADR  =QCC3FH  TO  0CFFFH  BY  40 H; 

in  the  object  listing,  the  same 
change  can  be  accomplished  by  the 
following: 

Location  323H  replace  40  with  CO 

Location  36EH  replace  7F  with  FF 

There  is  also  an  error  in  Figure  1 
of  the  BLOCKADE  article.  The  UP 
and  DOWN  sense  switch  labels  are 
reversed  for  both  players. 

I found  the  game  as  addicting  as 
the  author  claimed.  The  most  msidi- 
ous  feature  is  that  a new  match  is 
immediately  started  once  the  last  is 
finished;  no  quarter  or  other 
response  is  required. 

Dan  Elliott 
Sunnyvale,  CA 

Thanks  for  taking  the  time  to  point 
these  errors  out  to  us,  Dan.  Unfor- 
tunately, we  can't  be  perfect  all  the 
time.  Glad  you  enjoyed  the  game. 

—Editor 

Dear  Editor: 

Re:  Point  Humans.  Mr.  Cooper 
makes  the  statement  “The  cognitive 
powers  of  a point  human  include  a 
perfect  memory,  flawless  deductive 
powers  and  an  unerring  sense  of 
direction.”  I have  taken  the  word  in- 
clude to  be  an  invitation  to  help 
complete  the  set  of  cognitive 
powers.  A previous  statement  that 
the  point  human  "is  a monocular  be- 
ing" dictates  the  need  for  the  cogni- 
tive power  to  include  the  ability  to 
perceive  distance,  and  the  point 
human  sees  the  same  view  in  all 
directions. 

A vector  has  both  direction  and 
magnitude  (angle  and  distance).  The 
cognitive  powers  of  the  point  human 
may  be  said  to  include  a perfect 
memory,  flawless  deductive  powers 
and  a vector  sense. 

I have  written  this  letter  because 
the  article  initially  struck  my  in- 
terest. Upon  rereading  the  paper  I 
see  that  it  is  mostly  speculation 


without  basis.  Is  it  a new  approach 
to  a topological  problem?  Is  it  a 
survey  of  a well  developed  method? 
What  1 am  leading  up  to  is  a request 
that  articles  begin  with  a good  in- 
troduction or  abstract  and  that  a few 
notes  about  the  author  be  available 
at  the  beginning  or  end.  It  should 
not  be  necessary  to  look  up  the 
references  to  determine  what  sub- 
ject an  article  is  dealing  with. 

One  last  note:  The  use  of  invented 
words  (locomotory?)  very  definitely 
dampens  the  enthusiasm  bf  the 
reader.  In  this  case  it  is  not  a prob- 
lem, as  the  author’s  intent  is  ob- 
vious from  context.  I cannot  stress 
enough  the  need  for  concise  writingi 
when  trying  to  convey  conceptual 
material. 

Charles  T.  Springer 
Gig  Harbor,  WA 


CALL  FOR 

BUSINESS  ORIENTED 
ARTICLES 

INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine  is  seeking 
well-written  articles  related  to  the  business 
world.  These  articles  may  cover  any  aspect 
of  business  as  it  relates  to  microcom- 
puting. 

Specifically,  we  would  like  articles  de- 
scribing hardware  considerations  for  the 
small  businessman.  Software  articles  that 
present  a useful  application  for  any  type  of 
business  activity. 

Whether  you  are  a doctor,  lawyer,  or  candy 
butcher,  if  you  use  a microcomputer  In  your 
day  to  day  business  we  want  to  hear  about  It. 

Articles  authored  by  individuals  during 
leisure  time  are  remunerated  at  a rate  from 
$15,00.  to  $50.00  per  published  page  and  ar- 
ticles describing  company  projects  carry 
author  and  company  byline,  but  no  honorar- 
ium is  offered.  Articles  accepted  will  be 
acknowledged  with  a binder  check  within 
30  days  of  receipt. 

Manuscripts  should  be  double -spaced, 
typewritten  pages,  one  inch  margins,  and 
not  less  than  3V^  pages  in  length  (one 
published  page)  Pages  should  be  num- 
bered to  insure  correct  text,  Photographs 
should  be  numbered  and  labeled  on  Ihe 
backside  with  a description.  Photos  should 
be  laken  with  uniform  lighting  and  back- 
ground, in  the  form  of  glossy  black  and 
white  prints.  Tables,  listings,  etc.,  shall  be 
on  separate  sheets.  Computer  listings 
shall  be  printed  using  a new  ribbon  to 
assure  darkest  print  copy.  Authors  shall 
supply  a statement  of  their  background,  ex- 
pertise and  level  of  accomplishment, 

The  publisher  assumes  no  responsibility 
for  artwork,  photos,  models,  or  manu- 
scripts. Manuscripts  are  not  acknowledged 
or  returned  unless  accompanied  by  a self- 
addressed,  stamped,  return  envelope. 

For  article  submittal  or  more  information, 
contact  Carl  Warren,  Senior  Editor,  INTER- 
FACE AGE  Magazine,  16704  Marquardt  Ave.. 
Cerritos,  CA  90701  or  call  (213)  926  9544, 


16  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


Good-bye,  Atlantic  City  HellO,  PHILADELPHIA 

Personal  ,_q 

\r>  7a 

( COMPUTING 

PHILADELPHIA  CIVIC  CENTER 

AUGUST  24,  25,  26,  27 


FOUR  FULL  DAYS 


August  24 

Industry  Trade  Show 


for  Dealers,  the  industry 
and  Exhibitors  Guests 


AND 


A complete  lineup  of 
seminars  and  meetings. 


August  25,  26,  27 
PERSONAL  COMPUTER  SHOW 
New  Products  • Seminars  • Forums  • Technical  Talks 
The  largest,  with  300  booths.  The  longest,  at 
four  days,  of  any  computing  show. 


Don’t  Miss 


PERSONAL  COMPUTING  COLLEGE™  • over  80  hours 
of  in-depth  seminars  - ALL  FREE 

PLUS  FUN  ACTIVITIES 

Art  Show  • Music  Festival  • Banquet 
Computerized  Mouse  Maze 

Save  Money! 

Make  reservations 
now! 

Exhibitors  reserve  your 
space  now! 

PRODUCED  BY 

PERSONAL  COMPUTING  INC.  • John  H.  Dilks,  President 
Rt.  1 • Box  242  • Mays  Landing,  NJ  08330  • information  809-653-1188 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  43 


INTERFACE  AGE  17 


NEW  EXHIBITS  RECORD  WILL 
BE  SET  AT  1978  NATIONAL 
COMPUTER  CONFERENCE 

The  1978  National  Computer  Con- 
ference, to  be  held  June  5-8  in 
Anaheim,  will  feature  the  largest  ex- 
hibit of  computer  hardware,  soft- 
ware, systems,  and  services  ever 
held.  According  to  an  announce- 
ment by  the  American  Federation  of 
Information  Processing  Societies, 
Inc.  (AFIPS),  sponsor  of  the  annual 
NCC,  all  exhibit  space  for  NCC  78  is 
sold  out,  with  more  than  330  organ- 
izations reserving  1,382  booths  . . . 
surpassing  the  previous  record  of 
1,146  booths  set  at  the  77  NCC  in 
Dallas. 

According  to  Jerry  Chiffriller, 
director  of  NCC  operations,  the  new 
record  in  total  exhibit  space  was 
made  possible  through  reservation 
of  all  277  booths  in  the  West  Hail  in 
addition  to  available  space  in  the 
North  and  South  Exhibit  Halls  and 
the  Arena  of  the  Anaheim  Conven- 
tion Center.  Construction  of  the  new 
West  Hall  for  NCC  78  was  author- 
ized by  the  NCC  Board  to  accommo- 
date those  exhibitors  who  initially 


ST 


were  unable  to  obtain  exhibit  space 
for  the  conference. 

Organizations  participating  in  the 
NCC  78  exhibit  program  include  vir- 
tually all  major  U.S.  suppliers  of 
computer  products  and  services,  in 
addition  to  a number  of  prominent 
overseas  organizations.  More  than 
4,000  industry  representatives  will 
be  available  during  the  four-day  ex- 
hibit program  to  demonstrate  their 
latest  products  and  services,  pro- 
vide technical  and  commercial  data, 
and  to  help  attendees  find  solutions 
to  their  information  processing 
needs.  The  exhibit  program  wiil  in- 
clude competitive  offerings  in  a 
wide  range  of  areas  including  com- 
ponents, data  communications 
equipment,  education  and  training 
materials,  minicomputers,  micro- 
computers, microprocessor  sys- 
tems, mainframes,  memory  systems, 
software  systems,  test  equipment, 
terminals,  and  other  computer 
peripherals. 

in  addition  to  the  conference  exhi- 
bit program  in  the  Anaheim  Con- 
vention Center,  NCC  78  will  also 
feature  a separate  exhibit  of  con- 


sumer computing  products  and  ser- 
vices as  part  of  the  Personal  Com- 
puting Festival  to  be  held  June  6-8  at 
the  nearby  Disneyland  Hotel  Con- 
vention Center.  Exhibit  space  in  the 
PC  Festival  is  still  avatable  to  orga- 
nizations serving  the  personal  com- 
puting field.  Information  on  partici- 
pating in  the  Festival  exhibits  may 
be  obtained  by  contacting  NCC  78, 
c/o  AFIPS,  210  Summit  Ave.,  Mont- 
vale,  NJ  07645,  (201)  391-9810. 

FIRST  ANNUAL  COMPUTER  FAIR 
OF  EAST  TENNESSEE 

The  Computer  Club  of  Walters 
State  Community  College,  in  coop- 
eration with  this  institution,  is  spon- 
soring the  First  Annual  Computer 
Fair  of  East  Tennessee.  East  Ten- 
nessee encompasses,  within  a radius 
of  40  miles  of  our  campus,  a popula- 
tion of  over  one  million  (including 
the  Tri-Cities  area  and  Knoxville). 

The  college  and  administration  in- 
vite you  to  participate  in  this  com- 
puter exhibition.  One  of  many  in- 
tended purposes  is  to  enable  area 
business  and  other  professional 


Our  MacroFloppy 
goes  twice  the  distance. 


For  *695. 


introducing  the  Micropolis  MacroFloppy™:  1041  and  4042  disk  drive  sub- 
systems. For  the  S-100/8080/Z-80  bus.  Packing  100%  more  capacity  into  a 
5 X -inch  floppy  disk  than  anyone  else  143K  bytes,  to  be  exact.  For  as  little 
35  $695. 

The  MacroFloppy:  1041  comes  with  the  Micropolis  Mod  I floppy  packaged 
inside  a protective  enclosure  {without  power  supply),  And  includes  an  S-10G 
controller  Interconnect  cable.  Micropolis  BASIC  Users  Manual.  A diskette  con- 
taming  Micropolis  BASIC,  and  a compatible  DOS  with  assembler  and  editor. 
The  : 1041  is  even  designed  to  be  used  either  on  your  desk  top  or  to  be  inte- 
grated right  into  vour  5-100  chassis. 

The  MacroFloppv;1042  comes  with  everything  the  :1041  has  and  more 
Such  as  d.e.  regulators,  its  own  line  voltage  power  supply  and  to  top  it  off 
a stoking  cover  Making  it  look  right  at  home  just  about  anywhere. 

Both  MacroFloppy  systems  are  fully  assembled,  tested,  burned-in,  and 
tested  again.  For  zero  start-up  pain,  and  long  term  reliability-  They're  also 
backed  up  by  our  famous  Micropolis  factory  warranty. 

And  both  systems  are  priced  just  right  S695  for  the  MacroFloppy- 1041 
and  $795  for  the  MacroFloppy  1042 

You  really  couldn't  ask  for  anything  more. 

At  Micropolis,  we  have  more  bytes  in  store  for  you. 

For  a descriptive  brochure,  in  the  U.S.  call  or  write  Micropolis 
Corporation,  7959  Deering  Avenue,  Canoga  Park,  California  91504  Phone 
{2151  703-1121. 

Or  better  yet  see  vour  local  dealer 


MICROPOLIS” 

More  bytes  in  store  for  you. 


18  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  36 


APRIL  1978 


people  to  see  first  hand  the  wide 
variety  of  computer  equipment  avail- 
able today.  We  hope  you  will  invite 
all  potential  customers  to  see  your 
equipment  on  our  campus  at  the 
Fair  on  May  3rd.  We  will  also  engage 
in  an  intensive  publicity  campaign 
throughout  the  East  Tennessee  area. 

The  Fair  will  be  held  on  May  3, 
1978  from  10  a.m.  to  8 p.m.  Set-up 
time  will  be  either  8 to  10  a.m.  on  the 
morning  of  the  Fair,  or  the  evening 
of  May  2nd.  Members  of  the  Compu- 
ter Club  will  be  on  hand  to  help  set 
up  your  exhibit.  Tables  and  chairs 
will  be  supplied  by  the  college. 

There  will  be  a charge  of  $15  per 
exhibitor.  This  fee  will  be  used  to 
establish  a scholarship  fund  in  com- 
puter science  and  to  purchase  a 
microcomputer  for  the  Morristown 
Boys  Club.  The  college  will  also 
receive  a portion  for  the  use  of  the 
gym  and  hallway  space.  You  will  be 
free  to  take  as  many  orders  as  you 
wish  without  restrictions.  The  one 
time  $15  charge  is  all  you  need  to  in- 
vest. There  will  be  no  admission 
charge  for  attending  the  Fair  (door 
prizes  awarded!). 


We  hope  that  many  manufacturers 
will  take  advantage  of  this  oppor- 
tunity in  an  area  that  is  ripe  for  fur- 
ther computerization  of  businesses, 
in  education,  even  in  the  home  with 
microcomputers.  All  levels  of  mar- 
kets will  be  represented  at  this  Fair. 
Because  we  are  a state-supported  in- 
stitution, no  parties  can  be  excluded. 

For  additional  information,  con- 
tact William  Parks  (Faculty  Club  Ad- 
visor), Don  Gholson  (Computer 
Center  Director),  or  Barbara  Spann 
(Fair  Chairperson),  at  Walters  State 
Community  College,  Morristown,  TN 
37814,  (615)  581-2121. 

ISRATECH  78 

IsraTech  78  is  Israel's  June  4-8 
exposition  of  its  rapidly-growing 
high  technology  industries.  Already 
executives  representing  several 
hundred  American  companies  are 
making  plans  to  attent  IsraTech  78, 
promising  a record  attendance. 

These  executives  and  the  many 
more  from  around  the  world  that  are 
expected  to  attend  IsraTech  78  will 
have  the  opportunity  to  see  first- 
hand many  of  Israel’s  highly  regard- 


ed technological  capabilities  in  the 
fields  of  metal  working,  electronics, 
computers,  and  aerospace,  among 
others.  In  addition  to  attending  the 
metal  and  electronics  show  that  will 
be  a part  of  the  exposition,  Ameri- 
can executives  will  visit  industrial 
plants  and  Israel’s  famous  research 
and  development  facilities  as  part  of 
IsraTech  78. 

Also,  at  meetings  with  Israel's  in- 
dustrial leaders,  visiting  executives 
will  be  able  to  explore  the  vast  num- 
ber of  business  opportunities  in 
Israel,  such  as  buying,  selling,  li- 
censing, and  investing.  At  seminars 
and  meetings  with  top  government 
officials  and  representatives  of  ma- 
jor trade  associations,  the  visitors 
will  have  the  opportunity  to  discuss 
the  generous  package  of  incentives 
Israel  offers  foreign  investors. 

In  addition  to  the  shows,  semi- 
nars, receptions  and  trips  to  indus- 
trial plants  and  research  facilities, 
the  IsraTech  78  schedule  includes 
special  cultural  and  social  events, 
including  a program  for  those  ac- 
companying executives. 

Five  colorful  and  convenient  travel 


MetaFloppy  goes 


The  Micropolis  MetaFloppy1*1  give 5 you  more  than  four  times  the  capacity  of 
anyone  else's  5tf-inch  floppy.  Because  it  uses  77  tracks  instead  of  the  usual  55. 

The  field-proven  MetaFloppy,  with  thousands  of  units  delivered,  comes 
in  a complete  family  of  models.  And,  like  our  MacnoFioppy™  family  of  disk 
drives,  MetaFloppy  is  designed  for  the  5-100/S080/Z-80  bus 

For  maximum  capacity,  choose  our  new  Meta  Floppy-;  1054  system.  Which 
actually  provides  you  with  more  than  a million  bytes  of  reliable  on-line  stor- 
age For  less  money  than  you'd  believe  possible 

The  Meta  Floppy:  1054  comes  complete  with  four  drives  in  dual  config- 
uration. A controller  Power  supply  Chassis  Enclosure.  All  cabling.  A new  BASIC 
software  package.  And  a DOS  with  assembler  and  editor.  There's  even  a built- 
in  Autoload  ROM  to  eliminate  tiresome  button  pushing. 

If  that's  more  storage  than  you  need  right  now,  try  our 
MetaFloppy:  1053,  with  650,000  bytes  on-line  Or  our  Meta- 
Floppy:  1045,.  with  315,000  bytes  on-line.  Either  way  you  can 
expand  to  over  a million  bytes  on-line  in  easy  stages,  when  you 
need  to  Or  want  to 

In  other  words,  if  your  application  keeps  growing,  weVe  got 
you  covered.  With  MetaFloppy 

The  system  that  goes  beyond  the  floppy 
For  a descriptive  brochure  in  the  U S call  or  write  Micropolis 
Corporation,  7959  Deering  Avenue  Canoga  Park,  California  91304 
Phone  (213)  703-1121 

Or  better  yet  see  your  local  dealer. 


beyond, 


MICROPfiLIS- 

More  bytes  in  store  for  you. 


APRIL  7 978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  66 


INTERFACE  AGP  19 


The  Perfect 
Cover-Up!  !! 

For  The  Computer 
Designer  and  Builder 


VTE  SERIES  101 
TERMINAL  ENCLOSURE 
$77.95/$79.95 


KBE  101 

KEYBOARD  ENCLOSURE 
$25.95 


TVT  101 

TYPEWRITER  ENCLOSURE 
$46.95 

. , AND  THESE  FEATURES 
ARE  STANDARD: 

* High  Impact  Structural  Plastic 
Construction 

* Flame  Retardant 

* Attractive  Professional  Appearance 
4 Easily  Machinable  Using  Ordinary 

Woodworking  Tools 

* Highly  Adaptable  to  Your  Needs 

* Ribs  & Bosses  for  Component 
Mounting 

* Molded  Ventilation  Grills 

* Removable  Keyboard  Mounting 
Plate 

* Available  Unfinished  or  in 
Three  Standard  Colors 

Inquire  about  special  designs 


ENCLOSURE  DYNAMICS,  Inc. 

i P.O.  Box  6276 

Bridgewater,  New  Jersey  08807 
201-725-7982 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  20 

20  INTERFACE  AGE 


packages  to  IsraTech  '78  are  offered 
by  the  Government  of  Israel  offices 
here  for  those  executives  interested. 
A brochure  is  available  upon  request. 

For  registration  or  more  informa- 
tion on  IsraTech  78,  contact  the 
Government  of  Israel  Investment 
Authority,  641  Lexington  Avenue, 
New  York,  NY  10022,  (212)  486-8554. 

CALL  FOR  PAPERS 
COMPSAC  78 

Papers  are  being  solicited  for  the 
Second  International  Conference  on 
Computer  Software  and  Applica- 
tions - COMPSAC  78,  to  be  held  in 
Chicago,  Illinois,  November  13-16. 
Sponsored  by  the  IEEE  Computer 
Society,  COMPSAC  78  will  bring 
together  computer  practitioners, 
users,  and  researchers  to  share  their 
ideas,  experiences  and  require- 
ments for  applications  software, 
management  techniques,  and  soft- 
ware development  support,  includ- 
ing automated  techniques.  Papers 
in  the  following  and  related  areas 
are  invited: 

•Software  development  methodology 
•Data  base  management  systems 
•Transaction  and  information  man- 
agement systems 
•Reliability  and  Maintainability 
•Case  studies 
•Software  tools 

•Social,  legal,  and  regulatory  issues 
•Operating  systems  including  dis- 
tributed operating  systems 
•Software  management 
•Data  communication  and  computer 
networking 

•Computerized  decision  making 
systems 

•Applications  in  business,  commu- 
nication, education,  energy,  gov- 
ernment, military,  process  control, 
and  transportation 
•Mini/Micro  software  development 
•Organizational  impact  of  EDP 
technology 

•Application-oriented  languages 

Papers  should  range  in  length  be- 
tween 1000  and  5000  words.  Submis- 
sion deadline  is  June  1, 1978.  Papers 
should  be  submitted  for  considera- 
tion to:  Professor  C.V.  Ramamoorthy, 
Dept,  of  EE  & Computer  Science, 
University  of  California.  Berkeley, 
CA  94720. 

Authors  will  be  notified  of  accept- 
ance by  August  1, 1978,  and  will  be 
given  instruction  for  final  prepara- 
tion of  their  papers  for  inclusion  in 
the  conference  proceedings.  Excep- 
tionally high  quality  papers  will  be 
considered  for  publication  in  IEEE 
Transactions  on  Computers  or  IEEE 
Transactions  on  Software  Engineer- 
ing. For  further  information  contact 
IEEE,  P.O.  Box  639,  Silver  Spring, 
MD  20901,  (301)439-7007. 


PROFESSIONAL  DEVELOPMENT 
SERIES  OF  12  SEMINARS 
WILL  BE  FEATUREO  AT 
1978  NATIONAL  COMPUTER 
CONFERENCE  IN  ANAHEIM 

The  Conference  will  be  held  June 
5-8,  and  the  12  Seminars  will  be 
organized  under  the  direction  of 
Gopal  Kapur,  a leading  consultant 
from  Danville,  California.  The 
seminars,  which  will  augment  the 
conference  technical  and  profes- 
sional program,  will  cover  a wide 
range  of  areas  critical  to  system 
development,  structured  methodol- 
ogy, software  engineering,  database 
management,  and  cost-effective 
computer  usage. 

Each  seminar  will  consist  of  a 
one-day  tutorial  for  computer  spe- 
cialists, users,  and  managers  cover- 
ing the  latest  development,  applica- 
tions, and  trends  in  a specific  area 
designed  to  increase  professinal 
skills  and  aid  in  career  development. 
All  seminars  will  be  conducted  at 
The  Inn  at  the  Park,  adjacent  to  the 
Anaheim  Convention  Center.  To 
assure  a maximum  learning  experi- 
ence, attendance  will  be  limited  to 
125  individuals  per  course.  The  sep- 
arate registration  fee  for  each  semi- 
nar is  $45  and  includes  complete 
course  material  plus  access  to  the 
four-day  exhibit  program  and  the 
NCC  78  Personal  Computing  Festi- 
val at  the  Disneyland  Hotel  Conven- 
tion Center. 

Seminars  will  be  conducted  by  na- 
tionally-recognized authorities  exper- 
ienced in  conducting  such  courses. 
Four  seminars  are  expected  to  deal 
with  user-oriented  management 
issues,  with  eight  focusing  on  sub- 
jects of  special  interest  to  computer 
specialists. 

Specific  topics  under  considera- 
tion include  managerial  develop- 
ment, security  and  fraud,  managerial 
opportunities  for  women,  structured 
testing  of  large  systems,  database 
systems,  structured  design,  struc- 
tured programming,  software  engi- 
neering, cryptography,  plus  two 
seminars  on  microprocessor  tech- 
nology stressing  hands-on  experi- 
ence with  the  Intel  8080. 

Additional  Information  on  the  Pro- 
fessional Development  Series,  plus 
further  details  on  NCC  78  may  be 
obtained  by  contacting  AFIPS,  210 
Summit  Avenue,  Montvale,  NJ  07645, 
(201)  391-9810. 

DALLAS  TO  HOST 

MICROCOMPUTER  EXPOSITION 

The  International  Microcomputer 
Exposition  will  be  held  in  the  Dallas, 
Texas  Convention  Center  Septem- 
ber 29  through  October  1.  Co-spon- 
sored  by  several  groups,  including 
the  American  Association  of  Micro- 


APRIL  1978 


i SELECTERM 

/ The  SELECTRIC II*  Printer 

you  can  TRUST 


ECAUSE . ■ alt’s  brand  new, 

and  fuliv  assembled  and  tested. 


BECAUSE . . ■ After  extensive  engineering  design  and  testing  by  Micro 
Computer  Devices,  IBM  Corporation  has  approved  the  SELECTERM  for  use  with 
your  microcomputer,  and  provides  you  with  their  factory  warranty  and  yearly 
service  agreement  for  the  typewriter.  In  addition,  the  electronics  conversion 
portion  is  fully  warranteed  by  Micro  Computer  Devices, 


BECAUSE..  ■ You  can  connect  the  SELECTERM  to  your  computer  within 
minutes  of  taking  it  out  of  the  carton. 

IT’S  THAT  EASY!  AND  THAT  RELIABLE! 


FEATURES 

■ Complete  ASCII  character  set 
in  supplied  dement. 

■ Fall  upper,  lower  case  alpha- 
numeric characters. 

■ Tab  Command,  Index  (verti- 
cal tab).  Backspace,  Bell -all 
under  computer  control. 

■ Parallel  Interface,  standard. 

ALL  ELECTRONICS  INCLUDED 

■ Power  supply,  electronics  and 
cable  sets  included  to  permit 
immediate  connection  to  the 
parallel  port  of  any  computer, 
at  standard  TTL  level. 

SOFTWARE 

• All  necessary  conversion  soft- 
ware in  PROM  to  handle 
ASCII  input,  directly. 


PRINTERor  TYPEWRITER 

■ May  be  used  as  a standard 
typewriter  when  not  in  use 
with  your  computer. 

OPTIONS 

■ Dual  Pitch,  $125 

■ Correction  Feature.  Si 25 

* Tractor  Feed  Platen,  $250 

* Noise  Reduction  Feature,  S50 


PRICE  and  DELIVERY 

■ Assembled  and  tested,  $1750 

■ Available  ONLY  from  author- 
ized dealers, 

■ Delivery  1 to  2 weeks  from 
receipt  of  order, 

■ OEM  delivery  in  quantity  within 
30  days. 


AVAILABLE  SOON 

■ RS-232  Interface 


micro 

computer 

devices 

inc. 

960  E,  Qrangethorpe,  Bldg.  F 
Anaheim,  California  92801 
Telephone  (714)  992-2270 


•Registered  trademark  of  IBM  Corporation 


* 'Innovators  to  the  Microcomputer  Industry” 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  33 


INTERFACE  AGE  21 


Puzzled 

About  Computers? 

Data  Dynamics  Technology  has  a library  of  answers . . . 

i 


II  An  Introduction  to  Microcomputers: 

Volume  0,  The  Beginner’s  Book 
By  Adam  Osborne.  226  pages,  $7.50 
This  book  has  been  written  for  readers  who 
know  nothing  about  computers,  and  it  has 
been  written  for  two  audiences:  1)  For  those  of 
you  who  have  a real  interest  in  learning  how  to 
use  computers.  2)  For  everyone  else  — who 
must  live  with  computers,  and  need  to  know  a 
little  about  them.  For  those  of  you  who  have  a 
real  interest  in  learning  how  to  use  computers, 
this  is  the  first  in  a series  of  books.  After 
reading  this  book  you  wlil  be  ready  to  move  on 
to  "Volume  1 — Basic  Concepts,"  which  gives 
you  the  information  you  will  need  in  order  lo 
use  computers. 

Order  No.  OSB6001,  paper 

a 

An  Introduction  to  Microcomputers: 

Volume  1,  Basic  Concepts 
By  Adam  Osborne.  287  pages,  $7.50 
The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  explain  not  only 
what  microcomputers  are,  but  in  addition,  why 
they  must  be  evaluated  in  a way  that  differs  so 
markedly  from  prior  computer  comparisons. 
The  book  does  not  assume  you  understand  how 
computers  work;  therefore,  computer  concepts 
are  described  beginning  with  first  principles. 
Order  No.  OSB2001.  paper 

An  Introduction  to  Microcomputers: 

Volume  II,  Some  Real  Products 
By  Adam  Osborne.  866  pages,  $15.00 

As  the  second  volume  in  a two-volume  set,  the 
purpose  of  this  book  is  to  describe  some  real 
products  which  implement  the  general  con- 
cepts covered  in  Volume  I.  In  this  book, 
devices  of  the  8080A,  MC6800,  Z80,  and 
MCS6500  microcomputers  are  described  in  ap- 
proximately the  detail  we  believe  to  be 
necessary. 

Order  No.  OSB3001,  paper. 

Build  Your  Own  Working  Robot 

By  David  L.  Heiserman 
234  pages,  S5.95 

Here  are  complete  instructions,  plans,  sche- 
matics, logic  circuits,  and  wiring  diagrams  for 
building  Buster,  the  most  lovable  (and 
mischievous)  mechanical  pet  in  the  world! 
He’ll  serve  you  coffee  or  bring  you  the  morning 
papers.  He’ll  forage  for  his  own  "food”  and 
scream  when  he  can't  find  it.  His  "curiosity" 
will  get  him  into  one  plight  after  another,  but 
Buster  has  the  capacity  to  get  himself  out  of 
trouble  just  as  easily  as  he  got  into  it! 

Order  No.  TB841,  paper. 

« 

Getting  Involved  with  Your  Own 

Computer:  A Guide  for  Beginners 
By  Leslie  Solomon  and  Stanley  Veit 
216  pages,  $5.95 

This  is  the  first  major  book  by  outstanding 
authorities  that  assumes  only  that  you  have  an 
interest  In  what  makes  personal  computers 
work  and  what  can  be  done  with  them.  It  will 
not  make  you  a computer  expert,  but  it  will 
teach  you  enough  to  understand  what  is  going 


on  and  where  to  go  for  more  information. 
Order  No.  RID004  8.  paper. 

Your  Home  Computer 
By  James  White.  220  pages,  $6.00 
For  the  pre-hobbyist  and  the  microcomputer 
novice,  Your  Home  Computer  provides  a com- 
plete introduction  to  the  world  of  home  com- 
puting, beginning  with  what  computers  are  and 
how  they  work.  This  book  requires  no  prior 
knowledge  or  experience  In  electronics  or 
computing.  It  provides  answers  to  your  many 
questions  about  hardware,  software,  and  the 
personal  computing  scene  today. 

Order  No.  DMX  05  1,  paper. 


(J  Instant  BASIC 

^ By  Jerald  R.  Brown.  180  pages,  $6.00 

Written  for  the  inexperienced,  this  activity- 
oriented  book  will  help  you  teach  yourself 
microcomputer  BASIC,  and  the  similar  DEC 
BASIC  PLUS  for  programming  your  personal 
computer.  There's  never  a dull  page  and  plenty 
of  activities  ...  so  have  fun  while  you  learn! 
For  those  of  you  who  already  know  some 
BASIC,  this  workbook  can  teach  you  the  new 
microcomputer  dialect. 

Order  No  DMX  04-3.  paper. 

Basic  BASIC:  An  Introduction  to 
Computer  Programming  in  BASIC 
Language  • Second  Edition 
By  James  S.  Coan.  288  pages,  S8.95 
The  author  uses  over  100  sample  programs  to 
illustrate  the  essential  techniques  of  the 
language  and  to  integrate  BASIC  programming 
with  mathematics.  Each  language  statement 
or  capability  is  clearly  explained  at  the  time 
that  it  is  first  used  in  a sample  program.  Every 
section  is  followed  by  practice  problems. 
Order  No.  HAY5106-9,  paper. 


cn 

Problems  for  Computer  Solution 

By  Donald  D.  Spencer.  125  pages,  $6.95 
The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  bring  together  in 
one  place  a wide  selection  of  problems  suitable 
for  computer  solution.  The  821  problems  pre 
sented  in  this  book  are  arranged  by  topic.  Prob 
lems  have  been  included  from  most  mathema- 
tical disciplines  (algebra,  geometry,  trigono- 
metry, advanced  mathematics,  probability 
statistics,  number  theory),  science,  chemistry, 
physics,  business,  biology,  and  game  playing 
Order  No.  CAM019-6.  paper. 


Microprocessors:  From  Chips 
To  Systems 

By  Rodnay  Zaks.  416  pages,  $9.95 
Microprocessors  is  a complete  and  detailed  in- 
troduction to  microprocessor  and  microcompu- 
ter systems.  It  presents  both  the  concepts,  and 
the  actual  techniques  and  components  used  to 
create  systems.  It  introduces  the  reader  to  the 
aspects  of  system  operation,  use,  and  design. 
Order  No.  C201,  paper. 


m 


Microprocessor  Interfacing 
Techniques 
By  Austin  Lesea  & Rodnay  Zaks. 

348  pages,  S9.95 

Interfacing  is  no  longer  an  art,  but  a set  of  tech- 
niques and  components.  This  book  will  teach 
you  how  to  interconnect  a complete  system, 
and  interface  it  to  all  the  usual  peripherals.  It 
covers  hardware  and  software  skills  and  tech- 
niques, including  the  use  and  design  of  model 
buses  such  as  the  IEEE  488  or  S100. 

Order  No.  C207,  paper. 


DATA  DYNAMICS  TECHNOLOGY  P.O.  Box  1217,  Cerritos,  CA  90701 

Name(Prlnt) 

Address 

City  State Zip 


Please  send  me: 


Description 

Qty 

Price 

Total 

Book  Order# 

Qty 

Price 

Total  f* 

Binders 

7.50 

1 

Slip  Cases 

5.95 

1 

Hex  Code  Cards 

2.95 

1 

Octal  Code  Cards 

2.95 

11 

Shipping  & Handling  Charges 

Binders  and  Slip  CasesSI.OO  ea.  U.S..  $1.50  ea.  Foreign 
Code  Cards  $ .25  ea.  U.S..  $ .50  ea.  Foreign 

Books  S .50  ea.  U.S..  $1.00  ea.  Foreign 

□ Visa# r ; M/C# 


TOTAL  ORDER S_ 
*TAX  $_ 

SHIPPING  & HANDLING  S_ 
TOTAL  ENCLOSED  $ 


Exp.  Date_ 


Signature 


Check  or  M.O.(U.S.  Funds  drawn  on  U S.  bank) 


‘California  residents  add  6%  sales  tax.  Prices  quoted  subject  to  change  without  notice. 

Please  allow  six  weeks  lor  delivery.  You  may  photocopy  this  page  if  you  wish  to  keep  your  INTERFACE  AGE  intact. 
Orders  cannot  be  shipped  unless  accompanied  by  payment,  including  shipping  & handling  and  tax  where  applicable. 

DATA  DYNAMICS  TECHNOLOGY,  A Division  of  INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine  (213)  926-6629 


22  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


TYCHON’s  8080  Octal  and 
Hex  Code  Cards 
The  code  cards  are  a sliderule  like  aid  tor  pro 
gramming  and  debugging  BOBO  software-  Both 
cards  contain  alt  the  standard  mnemonics  and 
either  their  corresponding  octal  or  hex  codes. 
The  pocket  size  cards  are  6.5  by  3 Inches  (16  by 
B cm)  with  color-coded  instructions  to  provide 
a neat,  logical  format  for  quick  reference.  The 
back  of  both  cards  is  printed  with  an  ASCII 
code  chart  for  all  128  characters  plus  the 
8080hs  status  word  and  register  pair  codes. 


INTERFACE  AGE  Binders  and 
Slip  Cases 

Collecting  magazines  can  bring  headaches  — 
not  to  mention  dust,  ripped  pages  and  mis- 
placed copies.  If  you  use  your  back  issues 
of  INTERFACE  AGE  as  reference  material, 
nothing  is  more  annoying  than  taking  time  to 
find  mislaid  copies.  Data  Dynamics  Tech- 
nology is  now  offering  deluxe  binders  and  slip 
cases  which  will  place  each  back  issue  of 
INTERFACE  AGE  at  your  fingertips.  Each 
binder  and  slip  case  is  constructed  of  a hand- 
some blue  vinyl  with  INTERFACE  AGE  stamped 
in  gold  foil  on  the  front  cover  and  spine.  These 
rugged  binders  and  slip  cases  can  hold  12 
issues  each  and  will  protect  your  back  issues 
of  INTERFACE  AGE  for  years. 


Instant  BASIC 

By  Jerald  R.  Brown.  180  pages,  $6.00 
Order  No , DMX04-3,  paper , 

Basic  BASIC:  An  Introduction  to  Computer 
Programming  in  BASIC  Language  - 2nd  Edition 
By  James  S,  Goan.  268  pages,  £8.95 
Order  No , HAY  5106  9,  paper . 

Beginners  Guide  to  Computer  Logic 
By  Gerald  F.  Stapleton.  192  pagest  S7.95 
Order  Wo.  TB548,  ctoth. 

The  Systems  Analyst:  How  to  Design 
Computer-Based  Systems 
By  Jerry  T.  Atwood,  225  pages  $10.95 
Order  No  HAY5102-6 , ctoth. 

Accent  on  B ASIC 

By  Donald  D.  Spencer,  104  pages,  $5,95 
Order  No.  CAM003-X , paper. 

Microprocessor  Programming  for  Computer 
Hobbyists 

By  Neil  Graham.  382  pages,  $8,95 
Order  Wo.  TB952 , paper. 

Simplified  Computer  Programming  — The 
Easy  RPG  Way 

By  Kelton  Carson.  240  pages,  $5.95 
Order  No.  TB676 , paper. 

Problem  Solving  with  FORTRAN 

By  Donald  D,  Spencer.  32Q  pages,  $12.40 

Order  No.  PH 0094-3,  paper 

Scientific  and  Engineering  Problem-Solving 

with  the  Computer. 

By  William  Ralph  Bennett,  Jr.  457  pages.  £22,30 
Order  No.  PH5807-2,  doth. 

Techniques  of  Program  Structure  and  Design 
By  Edward  Yourdon.  364  pages,  $21.10 
Order  No.  PH1702-X , ctoth . 

BOOKS  ONLY 

For  Bulk  Store  Quantitie$  contact: 
MicrOMedia  Marketing,  (213}  681-0685 


Prices  quoted  subject  lo  change  without  noHce 


basic  basic 


PROBLEMS 

FOR 

COMPUTER 

SOLUTION 


by  Donald  O.  Spencer 


rodn&y  za  ks 


MICROPROCESSOR 

INTERFACING 

TECHNIQUES 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  12 


INTERFACE  AGE  23 


Admission  for  3 foil  days  of 
personal  computing,  complete 
with  180  exhibits,  66  fascinating 
seminars  and  ail  the  going  ond 
coming  you  want  is  $10  ($8  for 
students  and  juniors)  at  the 
door,  and  $8  ($6  for  students 
and  juniors)  if  you  pre- register. 


Whether  you're  just  a beginner 
or  a well  informed  expert, 
you'll  find  the  latest  on  ham 
radio  communications,  graphic 
systems,  word  processing, 
pattern  recognition  on. .[our  list 
of  topics  is  long,  long,  long) 
from  basic  to  advanced  in 
terms  that  you  con  really 
understand. 


Everyone’s 
getting  personal 
in  Long  Beach. 

3 full  days  of  technical  sessions,  exhibits, 
home-brew  displays  and  the  latest  on  personal  and 
small  business  computing,  all  at  PERCOMP  78. 

April  28-29-30. 


Jim  Butterfield  is  on  his  way 
from  Toronto  with  the  entire, 
unabridged  truth  about  KIM. 
Jim  co-authored  The  First 
Book  of  KIM. 


Carol  Anne  Ogdins  keynote 
address  bares  the  fads  on 
"How  Personal  Computers  Are 
Being  Used  Today/  Card 
comes  to  us  from  Software 
Technique,  Inc.  in  Alexandria, 
Virginia. 


Dr.  Portia  Isaacson,  a con- 
tributing editor  for  Datamation 
and  an  associate  of  Byte,  brings 
computer  enthusiasts  the  very 
latest  word  on  "Computer  \ 
Store  Retailing." 


Louis  Field,  president  of  the 
International  Computer  Society/ 
SCCS,  gives  you  everything  he's 
got  on  "Getting  Started  in 
Micro-  Com  puling / 


From  Creative  Computing 
Magazine  comes  David  Ah  I 
with  oil  you'll  ever  need  to 
know  on  "Marketing  for  the 
New  Manufacturer/ 


Attorney  Kenneth  Widelitz  will 
be  on  hand  with  some  friendly 
advice  on  "Tax  Aspects  of 
Lemon  aide  Stand  Computing" 
while  his  friend  attorney 
Leonard  Tochner  delivers  the 
low-down  on  "Patents, 
Copyrights  and  Computers/ 


Just  for  the  fun  of  it,  we  have 
an  entire  home-brew  section... 
robotics,  gomes,  computer 
music,  even  every-day,  sensible 
stuff  like  checkbook  balancing 
and  preparing  mailing  fists. 

You  re  sure  to  take  home  some 
new  tricks  to  your  computer. 


And  don't  forget,  PERCOMP  78 
has  booth  after  booth  of  every- 
thing in  personal  and  small 
business  computing. 

5 months  before  show  time  our 
dynamite  exhibit  list  includes 
from  A to  V: 

The  Astute: 

Advanced  Computer  Products 
Alpha  Supply  Co. 

Apple  Computer,  Inc. 

A-Vidd  Electronics 


The  Brilliant: 

Byte  industries  Incorporated 
Byte  Shop  Lawndale 
Byte  Publications,  Inc. 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  98 


The  Captivating: 

Calcomp 

Computalker  Consultants 

Computerland 

Computer  Magazine 

The  Computer  Mart  of  Orange 

Computer  Pathways  Unlimited,  Inc 

Computer  Power  & Light  Inc 

Creative  Computing 


The  Dynamic: 

Databyte,  Inc 
D.C.  Hayes  Assoc 
Dilithium  Press 
Dynabyte,  Inc. 


The  Energetic: 

Edwards  Assoc 
Electronics  Warehouse,  Inc 
Electro-Sonic  Components,  Inc 
Entech 

The  Hearty: 

Heathkit  Electronic  Centers 
Hobby  World 

The  Irresistible: 

Interface  Age  Magazine 

The  Jovial: 

Jade  Company 
James  Henry  Co. 


RIP  THIS  COUPON  FROM  THE 
PAGE  AND  GET  IT  TO  US  BY 
APRIL  10. 


PERGOMP’78 

1833  E.  Seventeenth  St.,  Suite  108,  Santa  Ana,  Ca.  92701 
(714)  973-0880 


I want  to  save  time  and  money. 

Please  send  me 

pre-registration  forms. 


Name_ 


Address. 

City 


The  Personable: 

Pan  Dynamics,  Inc. 

Personal  Computing 
Problem  Solver  Systems,  Inc 

The  Quintessential: 

Quainco  Ltd. 

Quest  Electronics 

The  Remarkable: 

Radio  Shack 
ROM  Publications, 


The  Sterling: 

SD  Sales 

Space  Byte  Corp. 
SubLogic  Co. 

Sunshine  Computer  Co. 
Sybex,  Inc 
Szerlip  Enterprises 


.State. 


-Zip. 


IA-4 


The  Tantalizing: 

Tandy  Computers 
Tarbell  Electronics 
Tech-Mart 
Telpar,  Inc 
TLF,  Corp. 


The  Ultra: 

Ultra-Violet  Products,  Inc 

The  Valiant: 

Vector  Graphics,  Inc. 
Vista  Computer  Co. 


Since  everybody's  coming,  better  make 
your  advanced  reservations.  Pre-register 
and  save  (you  won’t  have  to  wait  in  line) 
...but  don’t  forget  about  your  hotel  room. 
Our  staff  has  reserved  rooms  in  hotels 
and  motels  near  the  Convention  Center. 
We've  even  arranged  for  a shuttle  bus 
service.  So  call  and  well  save  a room 
for  you. 


Long  Beach  is  close  to  Disneyland, 

Knott’s  Berry  Farm,  Universal  Studios... 
everything,  plus  our  staff  will  help  you 
get  wherever  you  want  to  go. 

A big,  sunny  beach  is  minutes  from  the 
Convention  Center,  and  April  is  a great 
weather  month  in  Long  Beach,  so  plan  to 
bring  the  family  and  have  a good  time. 


processors,  the  exposition  will  be 
directed  toward  all  levels  of  tech- 
nology from  the  professional  engi- 
neer to  the  beginning  computer  hob- 
byist. 

In  addition  to  the  seminars,  a 
panel  of  experts  will  be  available  to 
answer  questions. 

Advance  registrations  indicate  at- 
tendance In  excess  of  15,000  to  view 
some  250  exhibits.  Further  informa- 
tion is  available  from  Beverly  Tanner, 
(214)  271-9311. 

DATA  78 

DATA  78t  a new  national  forum  for 
data  and  computer  communica- 
tions, will  be  held  in  Toronto,  April  4t 
5,  and  6, 1978.  Both  a conference  and 
an  exhibition  will  be  included  in  the 
event,  which  will  take  place  at  the 
Sheraton  Centre. 

There  will  be  three  full  days  of 
seminars,  and  panel  discussions 
will  cover  areas  of  interest  to  the 
data  processing  manager,  the  com- 
munications network  planner,  and 
business  executives. 

Conference  chairman  is  Richard 
G.  Taylor,  president  and  chief  ex- 
ecutive officer  of  Datacrown  Ltd., 
Toronto.  Banquet  speakers  are  Pro- 
fessor Marshall  McLuhan  and  Dr.  R. 
Buckminster  Fuller.  Session  chair- 
men have  been  appointed  to  lead 
each  day's  activities. 

DATA  78  is  expected  to  attract 
participants  from  across  Canada, 
the  U.S.,  plus  some  foreign  dele- 
gates. Concurrent  with  the  confer- 
ence will  be  an  exhibition  of  the  lat- 
est in  data  processing  and  com  mu* 
nications  technology.  For  further  in- 
formation contact  Sheifa  McLaugh- 
lin or  Jean  La  Prairie  at  (416) 
967-6200. 

CALL  FOR  PAPERS 

This  is  to  invite  you  to  present  a 
paper,  participate  in  a panel  discus- 
sion, display  an  amateur  computer 
system  or  sponsor  a tutorial  at  Ama- 
teur Computing  78,  July  22-23.  This 
will  be  a weekend  microcomputer 
festival  with  attendance  of  several 
thousand  people  interested  in  per- 
sonal computing  from  viewpoints  of 
users  and  avid  hobbyists. 

Those  interested  in  making  a pre- 
sentation should  submit  a letter  of 
intent  along  with  a one-page  abstract 
or  outline  by  April  15  to  John  W. 
Miller,  Program  Chairman,  6921 
Pacific  Lane,  Annandale,  VA  22003, 
(703)  256-5702.  Authors  presenting 
papers  will  be  provided  with  instruc- 
tions for  preparation  of  camera- 
ready  papers,  which  are  due  by  June 
1.  Areas  of  interest  are:  personal 
computing  applications,  systems, 
hardware  and  software:  amateur 


radio’  applications  of  microcom- 
puters; home  educational  uses  of 
computers;  speech,  music  and 
graphics;  standards  for  hardware, 
software  and  interfacing  to  the  real 
world;  and  subjects  of  interest  to 
beginners. 

Commercial  exhibitors  will  in- 
clude retail  computer  stores,  com- 
puter systems  manufacturers,  com- 
puter services,  computer  magazines 
and  others.  An  exhibitor  prospectus 
will  be  available  from  Amateur  Com- 
puting, P.O.  Box  682,  McLean,  VA 
22101. 

Amateur  Computing  78  will  be 
held  in  the  modern,  and  completely 
equipped  convention  facilities  of 
the  Sheraton  National  Motor  Hotel, 
which  is  near  the  Pentagon  and 
overlooks  the  monuments  of  Wash- 
ington, D.C.  Out-of-town  attendees 
should  direct  all  requests  for  rooms 
to  the  hotel  at  (703)521-1900  (not  the 
toll-free  800  number),  mentioning 
Amateur  Computing.  Or,  write  to  the 
hotel  at  Columbia  Pike  & Washing- 
ton Blvd.t  Arlington,  VA  22204. 

MEASURING  THE  VIEW  ABILITY  OF 
LIQUID  CRYSTAL  DISPLAYS 

Most  liquid  crystal  displays  oper- 
ate in  reflected  light.  The  stronger 
the  incoming  light,  the  more  read- 
able the  display.  The  contrast  be- 
tween the  digits  and  the  background, 
however,  can  vary  and  depends  on 
manufacturing  techniques,  polariz- 
ers, applied  voltage,  and  viewing 
angle. 

Three  engineering  researchers  at 
Beckman  Instruments'  Electro-Prod- 
ucts Group  in  Fullerton,  California, 
Chan  Oh,  Arthur  Berman  and  Steve 
Quon,  have  constructed  instrumen- 
tation and  developed  an  effective 
technique  for  evaluating  the  view- 
ability  of  wristwatch  LCDs. 

Their  method  measures  the  con- 
trast at  a series  of  polar  angles  re- 
sulting from  measuring  the  reflected 
light  as  a function  of  applied  volt- 
age. Graphs  of  the  data,  drawn  in 
perspective,  provide  an  easy  means 
of  analyzing  a specific  display  and 
of  comparing  different  displays.  The 
technique  and  graphs  are  the  sub- 
ject of  a paper  to  be  presented  at  the 
Society  for  Information  Displays, 
San  Francisco,  April  18-20. 

COMMERCIAL  APPLICATION  OF 
MINICOMPUTERS 

The  Commercial  Application  of 
Minicomputers  Conference  will  be 
held  on  April  26-28  at  the  AMA  Man- 
agement Center,  Chicago;  on  May 
15-17  at  the  Royal  Coach  Motor 
Hotel,  Atlanta,  and  on  May  31-June  2 
at  the  AMA  headquarters  in  New 
York.  This  course  is  designed  for 
directors  of  MIS,  user  managers  who 
are  a part  of  a team  considering  mini- 


computers, systems  personnel  who 
want  information  on  minis,  and  ex- 
ecutives in  small  to  medium-sized 
companies  who  are  considering  com- 
puterization for  the  first  time. 

For  additional  information,  con- 
tact American  Management  Associa- 
tion, 135  West  50th  St.,  New  York, 
NY  11020,  (212)586-8100. 

MINI/MICRO  SETS  24  SESSIONS 
2 SEMINARS  FOR  PHILADELPHIA 

Twenty-four  half-day  technical 
and  business  sessions  and  two  spe- 
cial seminars  were  announced  this 
week  for  the  Minicomputer/Micro- 
computer Conference  in  Philadel- 
phia, April  18-20. 

The  conference  and  exhibit  will  be 
held  concurrently  in  the  Philadel- 
phia Civic  Center.  This  is  the  third 
Mini/Micro  event  to  be  presented  by 
Robert  D.  Rankin.  The  1976  meeting 
and  expo  was  held  in  San  Francisco, 
and  the  second  was  held  in  Anaheim 
last  year. 

About  100  product  and  system 
manufacturers  will  introduce  their 
new  minicomputer  and  microcom- 
puter products  in  twice  that  many 
exhibit  units  on  the  Civic  Center  ex- 
hibit floor,  Rankin  said. 

On  Monday,  April  17,  the  IEEE  will 
offer  a one-day  applications  course, 
“Minicomputer  and  Microcomputer 
Applications.”  On  Wednesday,  April 
19,  the  International  Society  for  Mini 
and  Microcomputers  (1SMM)  will  pre- 
sent a course  titled,  MStep-by-Step 
Design  of  Microprocessor  Systems." 

For  further  information  contact 
Robert  D.  Rankin,  Managing  Direc- 
tor, Mini/Micro  78  Conference  and 
Exposition,  5528  E.  La  Palma  Ave- 
nue, Suite  1,  Anaheim.  CA  92807, 
(714)  528-2400. 

A COMPREHENSIVE  LOOK  AT 
DISTRIBUTED  SYSTEMS 

This  specialized  Seminar  will  be 
held  in  Atlanta  on  April  3-6  at  the 
Royal  Coach  Motor  Hotel,  if  will  be  a 
4-day  meeting  which  will  start  on 
Monday  at  9:30  a.m.  and  end  Thurs* 
day  at  4:30  p.m. 

The  course  leaders  will  be  Alan 
Stutz  of  Price  Waterhouse  & Co., 
and  John  L.  Hughes,  Vice  President 
of  Services  Management  Group.  The 
speakers  will  be  Conrad  Weisert, 
President  of  Information  Drsciplens, 
Inc.,  and  Michael  Parrella,  President 
of  Decisions  Strategy. 

For  further  information,  contact 
Claire  Levy,  Program  Director,  at 
(212)  586-8100. 

ADVANCE  PROGRAM  AVAILABLE 

The  Third  international  Confer- 
ence on  Software  Engineering,  to  be 
held  at  the  Regency  Hyatt  Hotel, 
Atlanta,  Georgia,  May  9-12,  1978,  an- 
nounces the  availability  of  the  ad- 


20  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


32  TTL  outputs 
to  relays, 
LEDs,  ICs,  etc. 


El  parallel 
[port  for  data 
[transmission 


1 input  port 
for  keyboard 


3 user  definable 


£00  TURNOFF  RELRV  6 : DELF1V 
200: REN  STOP  RRN,  WRIT 
200  MS 

210  TURNON  LITE  4: REM 

iJMfflfc, 


Expansion  bus 


Sockets  for 
up  to  16k  of 
on-board  RAM 


4k  dynamic 
RAM 


Cassette  interface; 
motor  control, 
data  output, 
data  input 


2 serial  I/O 

ports,  1 With  20MA 
current  loop 


Lite  port 
displays  an 
8-bit  word 


16  TTL 

..Mass. 


Power  supply 
input 


ZIBL™ 
in  PROM 


4 3/4-amp 
reed  relays 


4 general  purpose 
relays,  5 amp  at  5 VAC 


Composite  video 
output,  64x16 
display 


Z-QQ  tfiPU 


relay  outputs 
r motors, 
>lenoids,  etc. 


Programming  slots 
lor  2 TM5  2716s;  stores 
user's  programs 


Dynabyte’s  new  Basic  Controller:  Check  out 
its  capabilities  and  imagine  your  applications 


The  Basic  Controller™  is  a powerful, 
versatile  and  easy  to  use  single  board 
microcomputer  system  designed  for 
control  applications. 

It  is  heavily  into  control  I/O:  relays, 
flags  and  sense  inputs.  What  makes 
controlling  these  I/Os  (and  the  external 
devices  they  control)  so  easy  is  our  ZIBL™ 
(Z-8Q  industrial  Basic  Language).  It  is  a 
superset  of  NIBL,  National  Semiconduc- 
tor s control  BASIC,  and  was  written  by  us 
specifically  for  control  applications. 

WeVe  divided  the  control  world  into  six 
categories:  sense  inputs,  flag  outputs,  lites, 
relays,  A/Ds  and  D/As.  ZIBL  implements 
64  channels  of  each  in  such  a way  that  you 
need  not  know  anything  more  about  them 
than  their  names. 

In  ZIBL  it  is  valid  to  say: 

100  IF  TIME  = 053010  AND  SENSE 
(18)  = 0 TURNON  RELAY  5 
Simple,  isn't  iti 

Some  but  not  all  of  the  Sasic 
Controller  s mouth  watering  features 


include: 

• File  structures  that  allow  multiple 
programs  written  in  ZIBL  to  reside 
concurrently  in  RAM.  Each  program  may 
be  individually  LOADed,  RENAMEd,  or 
RUN,  Any  program  may  access  another 
program  as  through  it  were  a subroutine, 
while  still  retaining  its  own  line  numbers 
and  variables. 

■ Complete  communication  versatility. 
LISTing,  PRINTing  and  INPUTing  may  be 
done  to  or  from  any  serial  or  parallel  I/O 
channel  or  the  self-contained  CRT  I/O. 

* Single  key  SAVE  OR  LOAD  to  and 


triple  precision  integer  arithmetic,  plus  the 
usual  statements, 

* Onboard:  Z-8Q  MPU,  32  flags,  32 
sense,  8 relays,  8 lites,  2 serial,  1 parallel, 
cassette  I/O,  64x16  video,  keyboard  port, 
two  27 1 6s  with  programming,  up  to  16k 
on-board  RAM,  up  to  48k  off-board  RAM, 
real  time  clock,  vectored  interrupts,  one 
kitchen  sink,  Lite  Port  on  board,  and  an 
Expansion  Bus, 

$750  assembled,  tested,  warranted  1 
year.  You  add  power  supply,  keyboard  and 
monitor.  Available  now  — see  your 
computer  retailer. 


from  cassette. 

* Single  key  SAVE  to  EPROM.  No  worry 
about  PROM  addressing  or  programming 
routines,  it  is  handled  by  ZIBL  — 
automatically  — even  if  there  are  other 
programs  already  in  PROM. 

* ZIBL  in  ROM;  TURNON,  TURNOFF 
DELAY,  TIME,  REMt  IF  THEN,  DO  UNTIL, 
GOTO,  GOSUB,  (a  (exp).  TRACE  MODE, 
LINK,  READ,  DATA,  DIR,  RND(x,y),  strings, 


4020  Fabian.  Palo  Alto,  CA  94303;  (415)  494-7317 

DSIIiaBilTE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  18 


it's  a good  bet  the  company 
you  bought  your  computer  from 
doesn't  even  make  peripherals! 


It's  no  great  surprise!  Most 
computer  companies  got  their 
start  in  the  digital  logic  end  of 
the  business.  They  were  great 
at  building  calculators  and 
later  computers  but  when  it 
came  right  down  to  it,  most 
just  didn't  have  the  experi- 
ence necessary  to  build  the 
peripherals  to  support  their 
computer  products.  And  that 
left  a vacuum! 

At  Heath  we  had  the  advan- 
tage. Our  years  of  experience 
in  electronic  kit  design  gave 
us  plenty  of  background  with 
not  only  digital  logic  but 
mechanical  and  video  design 
as  well.  And  our  assembly 
manuals  and  documentation 
are  world-famous  for  easy  to 
understand  instructions. 

We  built  the  world's  first  digi- 
tal color  television,  a unique 
fully  synthesized  FM  tuner, 
digital  frequency  counters, 
clocks^  even  a digital  bath- 
room scale. 

So  when  we  entered  the  per- 
sonal computing  market  we 
had  the  "know-how"  to  build 
not  only  our  outstanding  H8 
and  Hll,  8 and  16 -bit  comput- 
ers, but,  in  addition,  a com- 
plete line  of  supporting 
peripheral  kits! 

Select  the  H9  Video  Terminal, 
the  H10  Papertape  Reader/ 
Punch,  and  very  soon  our 
own,  complete.  Floppy  Disk 
system.  Each  was  designed 
with  the  systems  approach  in 
mind.  Each  was  conceived  to 
integrally  mesh  with  not  only 
our  own  computers,  but 


: Wour  mall  order  catalog 
I.X  or  bring  coupon  to  a 
^ Heath  kit  Electronic 
Center  tor  your  catalog. 


through  our  set  of  sophisti- 
cated interfaces,  most  others 
as  well.  And  in  that  Way  we're 
making  every  effort  to  fill  the 
vacuum  the  others  left! 

So  when  you're  ready  to 
communicate  with  your  com- 
puter turn  to  Heath.  We've  got 
the  peripheral  kits  you'll  need 
and  at  prices  you  can  afford. 

Maybe  the  company  who  sold 
you  your  computer  didn't 
think  about  peripherals  - but 
we  sure  did!  And  come  to 
think  about  it  maybe  that's 
why  you  should  come  to 
Heath. . .in  the  first  place. 


FREE 

Heathkil  Catalog! 


Bead  about  nearly 
400  money-saving, 
fun -to -build 
electronic  kits. 

Use  coupon  to  send  foi 


r 


HEATH 


Schlumbergei 


Heath  Company,  Dept.  343-400 
Benton  Harbor,  Ml  49022 


Please  send  me  my  FREE  Catalog.  I am  not  on  your  mailing  list. 


L 


Name 

Address. 

City 

CP- 146 


Stale. 

Zip. 


1 


J 


AVAILABLE  LOCALLY  AT 
HEATHKIT  ELECTRONIC  CENTERS 

(Units  of  Schlumberger  Products 
Corporation)  Retail  prices  on  some 
products  may  be  slightly  higher, 

ARIZONA:  Phoenix,  85017,  2727  W,  Indian  School 
Rd.,  Phone;  602-279-6247:  CALIFORNIA:  Anaheim, 
92605,  330  E.  Ball  Rd.,  Phone:  714-776-9420;  El 
Cerrito,  94530,  6000  Potrero  Ave.,  Phone:  41 5*236- 
6670;  Los  Angelos,  80007,  2309  S.  Flower  SU 
Phone;  213-749-0261;  Pomona,  91767, 1555  Orange 
Grove  Ave,  N*,  Phone:  714-623-3543;  Redwood 
City,  94063,  2001  Mlddlefleid  Rd,.  Phone:  415-365- 
8155;  Sacramento,  95B25,  I860  Fulton  Ave„  Phone: 
916-466-1575;  Sm  Diego  (La  Mesa,  92041),  8363 
Center  Dr,  Phone:  714-461-0110;  San  Jose  (Camp- 
bell, 95006),  2350  S.  Bascom  Ave.,  Phone:  408- 
377-6920;  Woodland  Hilts,  91364,  22504  Ventura 
Blvd.*  Phone:  213-663-0531;  COLORADO:  Denver, 
80212,  5940  W,  38th  Ave.,  Phone:  303-422-3408; 
CONNECTICUT:  Hartford  (Avon,  06091),  395  W. 
Main  St.  (Rte.  44),  Phone;  203-678-0323;  FLORIDA: 
Miami  [Hialeah,  33012),  4705  W.  16th  Ave.,  Phone: 
305-023-2280;  Tampa,  33614,  4019  West  Hills- 
borough Ave.,  Phone:  613-866-2541;  GEORGIA; 
Atlanta,  30342,  5286  Roswell  Rd.,  Phone:  404-252- 
4341;  ILLINOIS:  Chicago,  60645,  3462-66  W.  De- 
von Ave.,  Phone:  312-583^920;  Chicago  [Downers 
Grove,  60515),  224  Ogden  Ave,,  Phone:  312-852- 
1304;  INDIANA;  Indianapolis,  46220,  2112  E.  62nd 
SL,  Phono:  317-257-4321;  KANSAS:  Kansas  City 
(Mission,  86202),  5960  Lamar  Ave„  Phone:  913- 
362-4486;  KENTUCKY:  Louisville,  40243,  12401 
Shelby  villa  Rd.,  Phone:  502-245-7811;  LOUISIANA: 
Naw  Orleans  (Kenner,  70062),  1900  Veterans 
Memorial  Hwy..  Phone:  504-722*6321;  MARYLAND: 
Baltimore,  21234,  1713  E.  Joppa  Rd,,  Phone:  301- 
661-4446;  Rockville,  20852,  5542  Nicholson  Lane, 
Phone:  301-881-5420;  MASSACHUSETTS:  Boston 
(Peabody,  01960),  242  Andover  St.,  Phone:  617- 
531-9330;  Boston  (Wellesley,  02181),  165  Wor- 
cester Ave,  (Rt.  9 Just  west  of  RL  128),  Phone: 
617-237-1510;  MICHIGAN:  Detroit,  48219,  18645 
W.  Eight  Mile  Rd„  Phone;  313-535-6480;  B.  De- 
troit, 48021,  18149  E,  Eight  Mila  Rd.,  Phone:  313- 
772-0416;  MINNESOTA;  Minneapolis  [Hopkins, 
55343),  101  Shady  Oak  Rd.,  Phone:  612-938*6371; 
MISSOURI:  St,  Louis  (Bridgeton),  63044,  3794 
McKelvey  Rd.,  Phone:  314-291-1650;  NEBRASKA; 
Omaha,  88134,  9207  Maple  St.,  Phona:  402-391- 
2071;  NEW  JERSEY:  Fair  Lawn,  07410,  35-07 
Broadway  (Fite,  4),  Phone;  201-791-6935;  Oca  an, 
07712,  1013  State  Hwy.  35,  Phone:  201-775-1231; 
NEW  YORK:  Buffalo  (Amherst,  14226),  3476  Sheri- 
dan Dr,  Phone:  716-835-3090;  Jericho,  Long  Is- 
land, 11753,  15  Jericho  Turnpike,  Phone:  516-334- 
6181 ; Rochester,  14623,  937  Jefferson  Rdt,  Phone: 
716-244-5470;  White  Plains  (North  White  Plains, 
10803),  7 Reservoir  Rd..  Phone:  914-761-7690; 
OHIO:  Cincinnati  (Woodfawn,  45215),  10133 
Springfield  Pike,  Phone:  613-771-8850;  Cleveland, 
44129,  5444  Pearl  Rd,  Phone;  216-686-2590;  Col- 
umbus, 43223,  2500  Morse  Rd.,  Phono:  814-475- 
7200;  Toledo,  43615,  48  S.  Byrne  Rd„  Phone:  419- 
537-1887;  PENNSYLVANIA:  Philadelphia,  19149, 
6318  Roosevelt  Blvd.,  Phone:  £15-288-0180;  Frazer 
(Chester  Co.),  19355,  630  Lancaster  Pike  (RL  30), 
Phone;  215-647-5555;  Pittsburgh,  15235,  3402  Wm. 
Penn  Hwy.,  Phone:  412-824-3564;  RHODE  ISLAND; 
Providence  (Warwick,  62886),  550  Greenwich 
Ave.,  Phone:  401-738-5150;  TEXAS;  Dallas,  75201, 
£715  Ross  Ave.,  Phone:  214-826-4053;  Houston, 
77027,  3705  Westhelmer,  Phone:  713-623-2090; 
VIRGINIA:  Alexandria,  22303,  6201  Richmond 
Hwy  , Phone:  703-765-5515;  Norfolk  (Virginia 
Beach,  23455),  1055  Independence  Blvd..  Phone: 
804-460-0997;  WASHINGTON;  Seattle,  98121,  £221 
Third  Ave,,  Phone:  206-982-2172;  WISCONSIN: 
Milwaukee,  53216,  5215  1AL  Fond  du  Lac,  Phone: 
414-873-6250. 


28  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  26 


APRIL  1978 


vance  program.  The  Keynote  Ad- 
dress will  be  given  by  Dr.  C.A.R. 
Hoare,  Oxford  University,  England. 
Among  the  27  sessions  to  be  held, 
are  sessions  on  Microprocessor 
Software,  Language  Issues,  Soft- 
ware Reliability,  and  Software 
Design. 

To  obtain  a copy  of  the  advance 
program  and  registration  informa- 
tion, write  to:  Software  Engineering, 
P<0.  Sox  639,  Silver  Spring,  MD 
20901. 

SPECIAL  TRAVEL  SERVICE 
AVAILABLE  TO  NCC  78  ATTENDEES 

A special,  red-carpet  NCC  Travel 
Service  has  been  established  for  the 
1978  National  Computer  Conference 
to  be  held  June  5-8  rn  Anahaim,  Cali- 
fornia. The  Travel  Service,  available 
only  to  NCC  78  attendees,  offers 
savings  on  airfares  of  up  to  44  per- 
cent in  some  cases.  In  addition,  a 
toll-free  number  has  been  estab- 
lished for  the  Service.  By  calling  800/ 
556-6882,  attendees  are  assured  of 
personalized  service,  including  the 
lowest  possible  airfares.  By  acting 
now,  the  best  possible  arrangements 
whether  you  intend  to  fly  to  Califor- 
nia alone,  with  colleagues,  or  with 
your  family. 

A variety  of  travel  packages  are 
available,  depending  upon  days  of 
the  week,  departure  times,  stop- 
overs, and  CAB  regulations.  Com- 
plete information  covering  available 
air  travel  packages  from  various 
cities,  as  well  as  a full  explanation 
of  regulations  which  apply  to  dis- 
count airfares,  can  be  obtained  by 
calling  the  NCC  Travel  Service  toll- 
free. 

There  is  no  cancellation  fee  until 
tickets  are  issued,  usually  two 
weeks  prior  to  departure.  Ail  major 
credit  cards  can  be  used  and  pay- 
ments may  be  extended  over  12 
months.  Arrangements  for  direct 
company  billing  can  also  be  made. 

NCC  Travel  Service  personnel  will 
be  on  hand  at  Los  Angeles  Inter- 
national Airport  to  provide  assist- 
ance on  arrival.  In  addition,  a 
courtesy  desk  will  be  maintained  at 
the  Anaheim  Convention  Center  to 
aid  in  handling  reservation  changes 
or  in  arranging  for  special  tours  of 
major  attractions  in  Southern 
California. 

HAMS  GET  TOGETHER 

HAMPEST  78  will  be  held  at  the 
Plain  City  Fairgrounds,  near  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  on  August  27. 

If  you  would  like  to  participate  in 
this  annual  get-together  of  ham  oper- 
ators, contact  Gene  Kirby,  13613 
U.S.  36,  Marrysville,  OH  43040. 


US  & UK  TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

CONSULTANTS  JOIN  FORCES 

International  Communications 
Management,  Inc.  (San  Francisco, 
New  York)  and  Communications 
Studies  and  Planning  Ltd.  have 
formed  an  association  to  design  and 
implement  global  telecommunica- 
tions systems  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic, 

Communications  Studies  and 
Planning  Ltd.’s  particular  expertise 
in  the  areas  of  advanced  telecom- 
munications services,  such  as  fast 
facsimile,  will  be  available  to  United 
States  organizations  and  manufac- 
turers through  ICM’s  offices.  Con- 
versely, International  Communica- 
tions Management's  skill  in  imple- 
menting multi-country  voice  and 
message  switching  networks  for 
United  States  firms  will  greatly  aug- 
ment CS  and  P’s  experience  in  Euro- 
pean countries. 

For  further  information  contact  In- 
ternationa! Communications  Man- 
agement, Inc.,  680  Beach  St.,  Wharf- 
side  Bldg.,  San  Francisco,  CA  94109, 
(415)  441-4100;  Communications 
Studies  and  Planning,  Ltd.,  Circus 
House,  21  Great  Tich field  St,  Lon- 
don. England,  phone:  01-637-9757/8. 

5-DAY  SHORT  COURSES 


Integrated  Computer  Systems, 
Inc.  has  scheduled  the  following  se- 
quence of  intensive  microprocessor 
and  microcomputer  short  courses 
which  we  believe  will  be  of  interest 
to  computerists  of  all  levels. 

The  weekly  sequence  of  courses 
is  as  follows:  Monday— Micropro- 
cessor Project  Management:  From 
Design  through  Manufacturer,  QA 
and  Field  Service  (#111);  Tuesday— 
Microprocessor  and  Microcompu- 
ters: A Comprehensive  Technical  In- 
troduction and  Survey  (#  102s);  Wed- 
nesday, Thursday  and  Friday  — 
Hands-on  Microcomputer  Program- 
ming and  Interfacing  Workshop  (For 
the  Beginner)  (#130). 

The  courses  are  being  held  nation- 
wide in  the  spring  of  this  year.  The 
schedule  of  cities  and  dates  is 
shown  below. 

Anaheim  May  1-5 

Philadelphia  May  8-12 

Washington,  D.C.  May  15-19 


Toronto 

Boston 

New  York 

Seattle 

Dallas 

Atlanta 


June  5-9 
June  12-16 
June  19-23 
July  10-14 
July  24-28 
July  31-August  4 


Courses  can  be  taken  individually 
or  in  combination.  Tuition  costs 
range  from  $195  for  a one-day  course 
to  $695  for  the  complete  sequence. 

For  more  information  contact  In- 
tegrated Computer  Systems,  lnc.T 
3304  Pico  Blvd.,  P.O.  Box  5339,  San* 
ta  Monica,  CA  90405,  (213)  450-2060. 


WE  CAN 
HELP  YOU 
LOOK  EVEN 
BETTER  . . . 


MR-7232-2R 

Our  enclosures  are  designed 
to  add  beauty  and  distinction 
to  your  products,  while  allow- 
ing maximum  mounting  space. 
Reasonable  pricing  and  deli- 
very plus  good  service  add  to 
the  pleasure  of  using  our  equip- 
ment with  your  product. 


Electronic  Systems 
Furniture  Company 
1215  E.  El  Segundo  Boulevard 
El  Segundo,  CA  90245 
(213)  322-4612 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  22 

INTERFACE  AGE  29 


APRIL  1978 


BATTELLE  PROPOSES  STUDY  OF 
WORLDWIDE  AIR  CARGO  FACTORS 

Worldwide  air  cargo  markets 
through  1985  will  be  forecast  in  a 
one-year  study  recently  proposed  by 
the  Battelie  research  centers  in  Col- 
umbus, Ohio;  Frankfurt,  Germany; 
and  Geneva,  Switzerland. 

Battelie  will  study  the  present  and 
anticipated  air  cargo  markets  of  the 
industrial  world  in  Europe,  North 
America,  Japan,  the  Comecon  coun- 
tries, OPEC  nations,  and  selected 
developing  countries.  The  study  will 
focus  on  relevant  developments 
through  1985  and  their  consequences 
for  the  markets,  structure,  and  profit- 
ability of  the  industries  concerned. 
These  include  airlines,  airports,  air- 
craft and  ground-equipment  manu- 
facturers, and  forwarders. 

The  primary  results  of  the  pro- 
posed study  will  consist  of  fore- 
casts of  specific  commodities  ship- 
ped by  all-freighter  or  belly-cargo  air 
transport  between  selected  pairs  of 
countries.  In  support  of  these  fore- 
casts, the  study  is  designed  to  iden- 
tify the  important  changes  expected 
to  occur  in  international  air  cargo. 

The  study  will  examine  the  role  of 
charter  airlines,  new  price  and  tariff 
structures,  motivations  and  re- 
quirements of  shippers,  new  com- 
modities amenable  to  air  shipment; 


the  demand  for  new  aircraft  and 
ground  equipment,  resulting  from 
shifts  in  air  cargo  markets;  factors 
that  may  impose  unprecedented 
burdens  on  air  transport,  e.g.  rising 
energy  costs,  traffic  restrictions, 
and  political  influences;  and  the  im- 
pact of  deregulation  of  air  cargo 
transportation  in  the  U,$, 

Results  of  the  study  will  be 
presented  to  the  clients  in  late  1973, 
Additional  information  may  be  ob- 
tained from  C.  William  Hamilton, 
Batteile's  Columbus  Division,  505 
King  Ave.,  Columbus,  OH  43201, 
(614)  424-5131. 

FISHER-BROWNELL  OPENS 
METER  & INSTRUMENT  DIVISION 

Fisher-Brownell,  an  Avnet  Com- 
pany, has  established  a Meter  and 
Instrument  Division  to  serve  the 
Northern  California  market,  operat- 
ing out  of  a new  200-square  foot 
facility. 

The  function  of  the  new  M&l  Divi- 
sion is  to  calibrate  meters,  modify 
face  plates  according  to  customer 
specifications,  and  to  repair  and  re- 
calibrate both  analog  and  digital 
meters  and  instruments. 

For  more  information  contact 
Rick  Hampton  at  Fisher-Brownell, 
3381  Edward  Ave.,  Santa  Clara,  CA 
95050,  (408)988-6041. 


MORE  POWERFUL  SPIRIT  SYSTEM 
AVAILABLE  FOR  WHOLESALERS 

NCR  Corporation  has  announced 
a more  powerful  version  of  its  SPIRIT 
system  for  wholesale  distributors. 

SPIRIT  (Sales  Processing  Inter- 
active Realtime  Inventory  Technique) 
is  a customer-order-processing  sys- 
tem originally  introduced  in  1974  for 
use  with  the  NCR  8200  computer. 
With  the  on-line  system,  all  data  is 
entered  using  visual  display  ter- 
minals and  customer  and  inventory 
files  are  updated  immediately.  Guid- 
ed by  instructions  which  appear  on  a 
display  screen,  the  operator  can  in- 
quire into  information  stored  in  the 
inventory,  warehouse,  customer  and 
order  files. 

The  enhanced  version  of  SPIRIT 
includes  new  capabilities  such  as 
the  remote  printing  of  picking  and 
packing  slips,  invoices,  and  cus- 
tomer and  inventory-status  reports. 
The  enhanced  version  also  has  the 
ability  to  handle  up  to  40  visual 
display  terminals  when  used  with 
larger  members  of  the  NCR  8000 
computer  series  or  the  NCR  Century 
computer  series.  This  means  it  can 
accommodate  larger  wholesale  dis- 
tributors with  up  to  16  warehouse 
locations. 


aliilia-i 


The  Digital  Cassette  Storage  System 
J with  AUDIO  CAPABILITY 

Compatible  with  all  S-100  bus  microcomputer  systems,  alpha-1 
is  the  ideal  storage  system  for  use  in  any  application.  Your  alpha-1  may  be 
configured  to  utilize  from  one  to  four  drives  to  provide  iimitless  capabilities. 
Alpha-1  is  a highly  economical  approach  to  mass  storage  for  your  home  computer, 
your  business  system,  or  the  classroom. 


SEPARATE  AUDIO  RECORDING 

This  feature  provides  your  system  with 
| capabilities  for: 

■ Verbal  student/computer  interaction 

■ Talking  games 

■ Audio  burglar  alarm 

■ intelligent  phone  message  system 

| SPEED  AND  CAPACITY 

■ Stores  over  50QK  bytes  per  C-6Q  side 

■ Average  access  time  for  C-60  tape  is  17 
seconds. 

m Load  8K  in  less  than  II  seconds. 

* Data  transfer  rate  at  62S0  baud. 

HARDWARE 

■ Compatible  with  all  popular  ST  00  bus 
microcomputers. 

■ Audio  track  under  computer  control. 

■ Replaces  ROM /PROM  monitors. 
Independent  motion  control  and  read/ 
write  electronics. 

2-button  cold  start  capability. 


SOFTWARE 

■ MCOS  Operating  System  handles  variable 
length  named  files,  updates,  packs  and 
copies  with  a single  command.  Includes 
Editor,  Assembler  and  Debugger  . . . 
al 3 provided  with  alpha-1  ■ 

■ Extended  BASIC  (4,4)  with  MCOS  for 
array  handling  and  concatenation. 

* PDSl-a  sophisticated  editor/ assembler* 

■ Dynamic  Debugger  provides  program 
display,  execution  control  and  moni- 
toring. 

“ Games 

■ AC  R/Tarbell  Load 


SYSTEM  INCLUDES 

Mecadrive*  case*  controller,  power  supply, 
cabling,  operating  manual  and  software  on 
cassette.  The  natural  wood  enclosure 
pictured  here  is  optional. 

FREE  BUYERS  GUIDE! 

You  don't  have  all  the  facts  about  tape  and 
disk  systems  until  you  have  read  our 
BUYER’S  GUIDE  TO  MASS  STORAGE  . „ . 
Free  for  the  asking! 

Available  kit  or  assembled  from  dealers 
nationwide.  For  the  dealer  nearest  you, 
write  or  phone: 


7026  0.W.S«  Road,  Yucca  Valley,  CA  92284 
1714)  365-7686 


30  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  31 


APRIL  1978 


Gotcha , DEC! 


SuperTemr 


Yes,  we  gotcha  DECwriter  and  we  did  it 
with  such  standard  features  as:  matrix 
impact  printing,  1 32  column  print  width, 
microprocessor  electronics,  portability 
(SuperTerm  weighs  less  than  50  lbs.}, 
high  speed  (10,  1 5,  30,  45  and  60  char- 
acters per  second  are  standard  with  1 20 
and  200  CPS  being  optional},  an  IBM 
Selectric  configured  keyboard,  a "gear 
shifted"  alphanumeric  key  pad,  a quick 
loading  cartridge  ribbon  system,  hori- 
zontal tabs  (variable  and  fixed),  vertical 
tabs,  programmable  keyboard  lockout, 
text-optimized  printing  and  forms  con- 
trol-all standard. 

In  addition,  SuperTerm’s  unique  "bal- 
listic" printhead  design  is  warranted  for 
an  entire  year,  This  means  that  during 
the  warranty  period,  should  you  ever 
encounter  defects  in  printhead  work- 
manship, Intertec  will  replace  or  repair 
the  defective  component  free! 


It's  really  just  that  simple  and  that 
super  - a printhead  warranty  4 times 
longer  than  DEC'S. 

End  users  will  be  pleased  to  learn  that 
the  Intertec  SuperTerm  provides  all  of 
this  capability  and  more  at  a price  of  only 
$1995  — quantity  one. 

Low  cost  options  available  on  every 
SuperTerm  include:  200  CPS  printing, 
super  and  subscripting,  variable  vertical 
pitch,  pagination  (automatic  top  of 
form),  direct  X/Y  addressing,  adjustable 
left  and  right  margins,  automatic  reverse 
printing,  double-width  characters,  auto- 
matic CR  on  end  of  line,  a font  program- 
mable character  set,  and  a 1 200  baud 
communications  package  consisting  of 
120  CPS  printing,  dynamic  buffer  con- 
trol, 202C  interface  compatibility 
(w/reverse  channel)  and  automatic  re- 
verse printing . 


If  your  application  calls  for  APL/ ASCII, 
Super  Term  has  that  too.  In  fact, 
Super  Term  has  got  just  about  every- 
thing - except  competition. 

Want  more?  You've  got  it!  A built-in 
micro-cassette  (Supercette™)  is  avail- 
able for  only  $900  in  single  quantities 
with  OEM  discounts  available, 

In  addition  to  unparalleled  price  and 
performance,  every  SuperTerm  is 
backed  by  Intertec's  nationwide  factory 
trained  service  network  with  over  160 
service  centers  strategically  located 
coast  to  coast. 

For  more  information  on  the  total  per- 
formance and  unparalleled  low  price 
that  make  the  Intertec  SuperTerm  the 
very  best  buy  for  your  terminal  dollar, 
just  call  Intertec  Data  Systems,  the  only 
company  with  international  sales,  ser- 
vice and  the  revolutionary  SuperTerm. 


INTERTEC  DATA  SYSTEMS 


Corporal©  Headquarters 


Eastern  Regional  Marketing  Western  Regional  Marketing 


1851  Interstate  85  South 
Charlotte  North  Carolina  28208 
704/377-0300 


1 9530  Club  House  Road 
Gaithersburg,  Maryland  20760 
301/94  3-2400 


17952  Sky  Park  Blvd. 
Irvine  California  92714 
714/957-0300 


See  Us  at  Booth  1765 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  29 


a* 

FD°S;  °"£*  SP^eBr80&0, 6°^ed  Basic.  CJ£ „&*. 
inWnsicjo^  FDOS  W.  o ^endea  c(OSS  assen 


and  ^e  r-QOOP 

S%g®'es’c  crtFVtLOPW^ 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  51 


May  1 Minnesota  Computer  Society 
will  meet  at  the  Brown  Institute, 
Room  51,  3123  E.  Lake  Street, 
Minneapolis,  MN.  For  further  in- 
formation contact  the  Society  at 
Box  35317,  Minneapolis,  IVIN 
55435,  Attn:  Jean  Rice. 

May  2 Tidewater  Computer  Club  will 
hold  its  meeting  at  the  Elec- 
tronics Computer  Programming 
Institute,  Janaf  Office  Bldg., 
Janaf  Shopping  Center  in  Norfolk. 
The  club  also  meets  on  the  third 
Tuesday  of  the  month.  For  further 
information  contact:  C.  Dawson 
Yeomans,  Interface  Chairman, 
677  Lord  Dunmore  Dr.,  Virginia 
Beach,  VA  23462. 

May  3 New  England  Computer  Soci- 
ety will  meet  in  the  cafeteria  of 
the  MITRE  Corp.  at  7:00  P.M. 
Located  on  Route  62  in  Bedford, 
MA.  Contact  Dave  Day  at  (603) 
434-4239  for  details. 

May  3 Kitchener  Waterloo  Micro- 
computer Club  will  meet  at  the 
University  of  Waterloo,  Room 
3388,  Engineering  Bldg.  #4, 
University  Ave.,  Waterloo,  On- 
tario, Canada  at  7:30  P.M. 


May  3 Northwest  Computer  Society 
will  meet  in  the  Pacific  Science 
Center  in  Seattle,  Room  200  at  7:30 
P.M,  Formoredetails  write  NCCN, 
Box  242,  Renton,  WA  98055. 

May  3 The  Valley  Computer  Club  will 
meet  at  7 P.M.  at  the  Harvard 
School  located  at  3700  Coldwater 
Canyon,  Studio  City,  CA, 

May  3 Amateur  Computer  Society  of 
Columbus  will  meet  the  first  Wed- 
nesday of  each  month  at  the  Cen- 
ter of  Science  and  Industry  at  7:30 
P.M.  For  further  information  write 
c/o  Fred  Hatfield  K8VDU,  Com- 
puter Data  Systems,  1372  Grand* 
view  Ave.,  Columbus,  OH  43212, 
or  call  (614)  488-3347. 

May  3 Lincoln  Computer  Club  will 
hold  its  meeting  at  the  South 
Branch  Library  located  on  27fh 
and  South  Sts.  at  7 P.M.  For  more 
details  write  Hubert  Paulson,  Jr,, 
422  Dale  Dr.,  Lincoln,  NE  68510. 
May  4 Bay  Area  Microprocessors 
Users  Group  (BAMUG)  will  meet 
in  the  Hayward  ROC  Center, 
26316  Hesperian  Blvd.,  Hayward, 
CA  at  7:30  P.M.  For  further  details 
write  BAMUG,  1211  Santa  Clara 


Avenue,  Alameda,  CA  94501. 

May  5 Crescent  City  Computer  Club 
will  hold  its  meeting  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  New  Orleans,  Lakefronf 
Campus  at  8 P.M.  Call  Bob  Latham 
at  (504)  722-6321  for  more  details. 

May  6 Louisville  Area  Computer  Club 
(LACE)  will  meet  at  the  University 
of  Louisville,  Speed  School  Audi- 
torium at  1 P.M.  For  details,  write 
the  club  at  115  Edgemont  Dr., 
New  Alban,  IN  47150. 

May  6 The  Computer  Hobbyist  Group, 
will  meet  at  1 P.M.  in  Green  Center, 
Rm  2.530,  of  Univ.  of  Texas,  Dallas. 
For  details  write  to  P,0,  Box 
11344,  Grand  Prairie,  TX  75051. 

May  6 South  Central  Kansas  Ama- 
teur Computer  Association,  9:00 
A.M.,  Wichita  Public  Library, 
Wichita,  KS.  For  further  informa- 
tion call  Chris  Borger  at  (316) 
265-1120  or  Dave  Rawson,  1825 
Gary,  Wichita,  KS  67219,  (316) 
744-1629  for  further  details. 

May  6 Oklahoma  Computer  Club 
will  be  meeting  at  the  Belle  Aisle 
Library  at  10  A.M.  Call  Al  Camp- 
bell at  (405)  842-4933  for  details. 

May  6 Milwaukee  Area  Computer 


APPLICATION  SOFTWARE 

NATIONAL  SOFTWARE  EXCHANGE,  INC. 

WILL  PAY  CASH 
FOR  YOUR  PROGRAMS 

We  are  purchasing  programs  for  resale. 

They  may  be  written  in  any  popular  version  of  BASIC  or  FORTRAN. 

They  must  be  documented  (our  documentalists  will  polish  up  the 
documentation) 

They  must  be  original! 

Write  or  Call 

NATIONAL  SOFTWARE  EXCHANGE,  INC. 

1000  Lake  Saint  Louis  Blvd. 

Suite  248 

Lake  Saint  Louis,  Missouri  63367 

(314}  625  -2400 


APRIL  1 978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  38 


INTERFACE  AGE  33 


Club  will  meet  at  1 P.M.  at  the 
Waukesha  County  Technical  In- 
stitute, New  Berlin,  Wl.  Call  (414) 
246-6634  for  further  details. 

May  10  Homebrew  Computer  Club 
meeting  will  begin  at  7 P.M.  in 
Menlo  Park,  GA  at  the  Stanford 
Linear  Accelerator  Center  Audi* 
torium.  Call  (415)  967-6754  for 
more  details. 

May  11  Mid  America  Computer  Hob- 
byist meeting  will  be  at  7:00  P.M. 
at  Commercial  Federal  Savings  & 
Loan,  Bellevue,  NE.  intersection 
of  Galvin  Rd.  and  U.S.  Hwy.  73*75. 
Write  P.O.  Box  13303,  Omaha,  NE 
68113  for  more  information. 

May  11  Utah  Computer  Association 
will  meet  at  Murray  High  School, 
Rm  154,  5440  S.  State  St.,  Salt 
Lake  City,  UT  at  7 P.M.  For  details 
write  or  call  Larry  or  Holly  Barney, 
1928  S.  2600  Salt  Lake  City,  UT 
84108.  (801)  485-3476. 

May  11  The  Rochester  Area  Micro- 
computer Society  will  meet  at  the 
RIT  Campus,  Rm.  1030,  Bldg.  9 at 
7:30  P.M.  For  details  write  RAMS, 
P.O.  Box  D,  Rochester,  NY  14609. 

May  1 1 North  Florida  Computer  Soci- 
ety will  meet  at  227  Edison  Dr., 
Pensacola,  FL  32505.  For  infor- 
mation write  this  address  or  call 
Eugene  Rhodes  at  (904)  453-3844. 


May  12  Northern  New  Jersey  Ama- 
teur Computer  Cl  ub  (NNJ  ACC)  will 
hold  its  meeting  at  the  Fairleigh 
Dickenson  University,  on  the 
Rutherford  Campus,  Becton  Hail, 
Room  B8,  at  7 P.M.  For  details 
write  NNJ  ACC,  593  New  York 
Ave.r  Lyndburst,  NJ  07071. 

May  14  North  Orange  County  Com- 
puter Club  will  have  its  meeting 
at  Chapman  College,  Orange,  CA, 
Doors  open  at  12:00.  105  Hash* 
inger  HaM  Auditorium.  Member- 
ship Chairman,  Tracey  Lerocker, 
(714)  998-8080  evenings. 

May  16  Sacramento  Microcomputer 
Users  Group,  (SMUG),  7:30-9:30 
P.M.  at  SMUD  Training  Bldg.,  on 
59  St.  Write  Richard  Lerseth,  P,0. 
Box  161513  or  cal!  (916)  381-0335 
after  5:00  P.M. 

May  16  Rhode  Island  Computer  Hob- 
byists (RICH)  meets  the  at  the 
Knight  Campus  of  Rhode  Island 
Junior  College  in  the  Faculty 
Cafeteria  at  7:30  P.M.  For  further 
information  contact  Emilio  lannu- 
ciilo,  RICH,  P.O.  Box  559,  Bristol, 
Rl  02809,  or  call  (401)  253-5450. 

May  19  Long  Island  Computer  Asso- 
ciation wilt  meet  at  7 PM  at  the 
New  York  Institute  of  Technology, 
Old  Westbury  Campus,  Route 
25A  between  Route  107  and  Gien 


Cove  Rd.,  Rm.  508.  For  more 
details  write  Long  Island  Com- 
puter Association,  36  Irene  Lane 
East,  Plainview,  NY  11803. 

May  19  Amateur  Computer  Group  of 
New  Jersey  (ACGNJ)  will  meet  at 
UCTI,  1776  Raritan  Rd.t  Scotch 
Plains,  NJ  07076  at  7 P.M.  For  fur- 
ther information  write  to  the  club 
at  the  above  address. 

May  20  Southern  Nevada  Personal 
Computing  Society  will  meet  at 
Clark  County  Community  Col- 
lege, Las  Vegas,  NV  at  12:00.  The 
club  also  meets  on  the  first  Satur- 
day of  the  month.  For  further  in- 
formation write  SNPCS,  1405 
Lucille  St,  Las  Vegas,  NV  89101 
or  call  (702)  642-0212. 

May  20  San  Diego  Computer  Society 
will  meet  at  the  Grossmont  Com- 
munity College  Student  Center, 
8800  Grossmont  College  Dr.,  El 
Cajon,  CA.  Doors  open  at  12:30. 
For  details  call  (714)  565-1738, 

May  20  The  7CTs  Committee  (Affili- 
ated with  the  Cleveland  Digital 
Group)  will  meet  at  Cleveland 
State  University  Student  Services 
Bldg,,  in  the  Kiva  Room  at  2:00 
P.M.  For  more  information  write  to 
Cleveland  Digital  Group,  8700  Har- 
vard Ave.,  Cleveland,  OH  44105. 

May  20  Central  Florida  Computer 


Upgrade  your  SWTPC  6800  system  to  1200  baud  with 
PerCom’s  CIS-30  + dual-cassette/terminal  interface 


The  CIS-30+  . . . four  times  as  fast  as  SWTPC’s  AC-30  with  the  same  dual- 
cassette capability  . . . plus  a 1200-baud  data  terminal  interface  ...  in  a SWTPC 
color-compatible  package  that’s  only  1/10  the  size  of  the  AC-30. 

Dependable?  The  simplicity  of  Harold  Mauch  PerCom  Data  designs  says  more 
than  any  well-chosen  words.  Simply  put,  for  only  $79.95*  you  get  the  fastest,  most 
dependable  dual  function  interface  you  can  buy  for  your  SWTPC  6800. 

See  your  nearest  dealer  or  order  direct  from  PerCom. 

PerCom  'peripherals  for  personal  computing' 


PEflGCM 


PERCOM  DATA  COMPANY,  INC. 
QEPT. I *318  GARNES<  GARLAND.  TX  75042 

(214)  276-1968 

* Kil  price.  Assembled  and  tested; 
$99.95  + shipping.  Tex.  res.  add 
5%  tax,  BAG  & IVIC  available. 


• Record  and  playback  at  120, 
60  or  30  self-clocking  bytes  per 
second  (extended  Kansas  City 
Standard) 

• 1200,  6Q0  or  30Q  baud  data 
terminal  interface 

• Dual  cassette  operation 

• Compatible  with  SWTPC  cas- 
sette software 

• Optional  kit  permits  program 
control  of  cassettes 

• Optional  adaptor  permits  inter- 
facing with  any  computer 


34  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  41 


APRIL  1978 


■\ 


modem  / 'mo  • dam  / [modulator 
+ demodulator]  n - s : a device  for 
transmission  of  digital  information 
via  an  analog  channel  such  as  a tele- 
phone circuit. 


Those  of  us  who  live  on  the  North  American  continent 
are  blessed  with  an  incredible  non-natural  resource 
consisting  of  a gigantic  web  of  tiny  copper  wires  linking 
virtually  all  of  our  homes  and  businesses  together  into 
the  greatest  telecommunications  network  in  history. 

The  Bell  System  and  over  1600  independent 
telephone  companies  have  been  stringing  wires 
and  microwaves  nearly  everywhere  for  up  to 
100  years.  Now,  the  80-103A  Data 
Communications  Adapter  brings 
this  amazing  network  to 
S-100  Micro 
Computers. 


The 

80-1 03A  Data 
Communications 
Adapter  is  more  than 
just  a modem.  It  is  a complete 
data  communications  sub-system 
combining  on  a single  S-100  board 
functions  which  formerly  required  a 
modem,  an  automatic  calling  unit,  and  serial 
and  parallel  interfaces.  This  fully  programmable 
unit  gives  you  flexibility  never  before  available  at  such 
a low  cost.  Fully  assembled,  tested,  and  burned  in  with 
full  documentation  and  our  standard  90  day  warranty,  the 
80-103A  is  available  at  retail  computer  stores  across  the  country 

for  only  279.95. 


D.C.  Hayes  Associates  Inc. 

P.O.  BOX  9884  • ATLANTA,  GA.  30319  • (404)  231-0574 

Distributed  in  Canada  by  TRtNTRONICS  LIMITED,  Toronto 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  25 


INTERFACE  AGE  35 


Club  will  meet  at  the  Orlando 
Utility  Bldg,,  on  S,  Orange  Ave., 
Orlando,  FL  at  2:00  P.M. 

May  20  Philadelphia  Area  Computer 
Society  will  meet  at  2 PM  at 
LaSalle  College  Science  Bldg,  at 
the  corner  of  20th  & Olney  Ave. 
For  more  details  write  PACSs  P.O. 
Box  1954,  Philadelphia,  PA  19105. 

May  20  Computer  Hobbyist  Group 
of  North  Texas  will  meet  at  UTA 
University  Hall,  Rm  108  at  1 PM  in 
Arlington,TX.  For  details  call  Neil 
Ferguson  at  (817)  or  (214)  265-9054. 

May  24  Diablo  Professional  Users 
Group  (DPUG)  will  meet  at  Diablo 
Valley  College  Library,  near  the 
Willow  Pass  exit  of  Fwy.  680, 
from  8-10  PM.  For  details  write  or 
call  Bob  Hendrickson,  Elec- 
tronics Dept.,  DVC,  Pleasant  Hill, 
CA  94523;  (415)  687-8373. 

May  24  Boston  Computer  Society 
will  meet  at  the  Commonwealth 
School,  151  Commonwealth  Ave., 
Boston  at  7 P.M.  The  school  is 
located  on  the  corner  of  Dart- 
mouth St.  In  Boston's  Back  Bay. 
For  information  write  or  call  the 
society  at  17  Chestnut  St., 
Boston,  MA  02108,  (617)227-1399. 

May  25  Space  Coast  Microcomputer 
Club  will  hold  its  meeting  at  7:30 
P.M.  at  the  Merritt  Island  Library, 
Merritt  Is.,  FL.  Contact  Ray  Lock- 
wood  at  (305)  452-2159  for  details. 

May  25  Small  Computer  Engineer- 
ing Association  of  Minnesota 
(SCEAM)  will  meet  at  the  Resource 
Access  Center,  3010  Fourth  Ave. 
So.,  Minneapolis,  MN  55408  at  7 
P.M.  For  more  information  write  to 
this  address  or  call  (61 2)  824-6406. 

May  25  Microcomputer  Users  Group 


(MCG)  will  hold  its  meeting  at  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  Elec- 
trical Eng.  Rm.  115  at  7 P.M.  The 
club  meets  every  Thursday.  For 
more  information  write  MCG, 
Dept,  of  Elec.  Eng.,  123  Church 
St.  S.E.,  Minneapolis,  MN  55455. 

May  26  Alamo  Computer  Enthusiast 
meets  at  7:30  P.M.  in  Room  104  at 
Chapman  Graduate  Center  at  Trin- 
ity University,  San  Antonio,  TX. 
For  details  call  (512)  532-2340,  or 
write  to  the  club  at  7517  Jonquill, 
San  Antonio,  TX  78233. 

May  26  Washington  Amateur  Com- 
puter Society  has  scheduled  its 
meeting  to  be  held  at  the  Catholic 
University  of  America,  St.  Johns 
Hall.  Located  at  Michigan  and 
Harewood  Aves.  in  Washington, 
D.C.  Contact  Bill  Stewart  at  (202) 
722-0210  for  club  details  between 
the  hours  of  10  A.M.  and  12  P.M. 

May  26  TRACE  will  hold  its  meeting 
at  the  Ontario  Science  Center,  8 
P.M.,  770  Don  Mills  Road,  Don 
Mills,  Ontario.  Club  address  is 
Box  545,  Streetsville,  Ontario, 
Canada  L5M  2C1. 

May  28  Summit  City  Computer  Club 
will  meet  at  the  McMillen  Library 
on  the  Indiana  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology Campus  in  Ft.  Wayne,  IN. 
For  details  write  the  club  at  P.O. 
Box  5096,  Ft.  Wayne,  IN  46805. 

May  28  Birmingham  Microprocessor 
Group  will  meet  at  Southcentral 
Bell  Company  headquarters  bldg, 
at  2 P.M.  For  further  details  write 
or  call  Jim  Anderson,  2931  Bal- 
moral Rd.,  Birmingham,  AL  35223; 
(205)  897-9630. 

May  30  Computer  Amateurs  of  South 
Jersey  will  holds  its  meeting  at 


the  National  Park  Municipal  Bldg., 
7 So.  Grove  Ave.,  National  Park,  NJ 
at  7:30  P.M.  For  details  call  (609) 
541-1010,  or  (609)  541-8296. 

CALL  FOR 

BUSINESS  ORIENTED  ' 
ARTICLES 

INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine  is  seeking 
well-written  articles  related  to  the  business 
world.  These  articles  may  cover  any  aspect 
of  business  as  it  relates  to  microcom- 
puting. 

Specifically,  we  would  like  articles  de- 
scribing hardware  considerations  for  the 
small  businessman.  Software  articles  that 
present  a useful  application  for  any  type  of 
business  activity. 

Whether  you  are  a doctor,  lawyer,  or  candy 
butcher,  if  you  use  a microcomputer  in  your 
day  to  day  business  we  want  to  hear  about  It. 

Articles  authored  by  individuals  during 
leisure  time  are  remunerated  at  a rate  from 
$15.00  to  $50.00  per  published  page  and  ar- 
ticles describing  company  projects  carry 
author  and  company  byline,  but  no  honorar- 
ium is  offered.  Articles  accepted  will  be 
acknowledged  with  a binder  check  within 
30  days  of  receipt. 

Manuscripts  should  be  double-spaced, 
typewritten  pages,  one  inch  margins,  and 
not  less  than  3Ys  pages  in  length  (one 
published  page).  Pages  should  be  num- 
bered to  insure  correct  text.  Photographs 
should  be  numbered  and  labeled  on  the 
backside  with  a description.  Photos  should 
be  taken  with  uniform  lighting  and  back- 
ground, in  the  form  of  glossy  black  and 
white  prints.  Tables,  listings,  etc.,  shall  be 
on  separate  sheets.  Computer  listings 
shall  be  printed  using  a new  ribbon  to 
assure  darkest  print  copy.  Authors  shall 
supply  a statement  of  their  background,  ex- 
pertise and  level  of  accomplishment. 

The  publisher  assumes  no  responsibility 
for  artwork,  photos,  models,  or  many- 
scripts.  Manuscripts  are  not  acknowledged 
or  returned  unless  accompanied  by  a self- 
addressed,  stamped,  return  envelope. 

Forarticle  submittal  or  more  information, 
contact  Cart  Warren,  Senior  Editor,  INTER- 
FACE AGE  Magazine,  16704  Marquardt  Ave.t 
Cerritos,  CA  90701  or  call  (213)  926-9544. 


$95  Stand  Alone  Video  Terminal 

o:.8f  E 1 9 x y virTHwii  * i s 3 c* 2 - j <■*++ 

! mw  ( ) *+,  - . /Q 12456739 : : <=>? 
L-RBCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUUyXVZ  E \ ] A_ 
d * f 9 h i j k 1 Pi  fi  0 P4.  fl  t UUWX  yzi ! >'vi 

SCT-1Q0  FEATURES: 

• 64  X 16  line  format  with  128  display  able  characters 
• Serial  ASCII  or  BAUDOT  with  multiple  Baud  rates 
• $187  Assembled  or  $157  Kit  (Partial  Kit  $95) 

I Full  cursor  control  with  scrolling  and  paging 
• On  board  power  supply 
• Many  additional  features 

Call  or  write  today.  MC/VISA  accepted 

XITEX  CORP.  P.O.  Box  20887 
Dallas,  Texas,  75220  # Phone  (214)  620-2993 
Overseas  orders  and  dealer  inquiries  welcome 


36  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  63 


APRIL  1978 


General  Business 

Software 
Ion  Can  Count  On! 


A Complete  System 

Inventory  • Sales  • Receivables  • Payables  • Purchasing  • General  Ledger 

Highly  Versatile 

Fits  Most  Business  Environments  Without  Any  Customizing 

Full  Menu  Structured 

No  More  Program  Names  to  Memorize 

Full  Input  Prompting  and  Checking 

No  Need  to  Guess  at  the  Order  or  Size  of  Data  to  input 

Complete  Error  Testing  and  Reporting 

Catches  Most  Harmful  Errors  Before  They  Cause  Problems 

Two  Security  Code  Activated 
Modes  of  Operation 

Time-Shared 

Handles  up  to  Seven  Users  Simultaneously 

All  Preprinted  Forms 
Available  Nationwide 

Invoices,  Statements,  etc.,  are  Already  Designed 

Fasy  to  Learn  and  Cse 

No  Need  to  Know  any  Software 


Dealerships  Still  Available  in  Some  Areas 

Demarco— shatz 


APRIL  1978 


COMPUTER  SYSTEMS 

952  Manhattan  Beach  Blvd.,  Suite  220,  Manhattan  Beach,  Ca.  90266  • (213)  545-4494 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  13  INTERFACE  AGE  37 


TRENTON  STATE  COLLEGE 

Trenton,  New  Jersey 


The  Third 

Trenton  Computer  Festival 


April  BE  & 23. 197B 


Super  Outdoor  Flea  Market 

Surplus  computer  gear,  bargains  galore,  over  5 acres 
of  space  {$2/spot,  no  electricity). 


Indoor  Commercial  Exhibit  Area 

90  exhibitor  booths  showing  newest  products;  special 
discounts;  funky  games  to  play. 


Forums,  Talks  & Seminars 


Meet  the  leading  experts  and  hear  sessions  on 
robots,  computer  music,  amateur  radio,  etc. 


Hundreds  of  Door  Prizes 
★ ★ ★ 

Banquet  Saturday  night 

For  more  information  call: 
609-771-2487  or  201-277-2063 
Admission  $4  Students  $2 
Hours:  10AM- 6PM  Saturday;  10AM-4PM  Sunday 


★ ★ ★ 

Banquet  $9.  Avoid  disappointment  — preregister  for  the 
banquet!  Send  your  check  for  $9  per  person  to;  TCF-78,  Tren- 
ton State  College,  Trenton,  N.J.  08625. 


Convenient  To  NY,  PA,  MD  & DEL 

Easy  to  get  to;  free  parking  for  over  6,000  cars. 


Sponsored  By: 

Amateur  Computer  Group 
of  New  Jersey 

Philadelphia  Area 
Computer  Society 

Trenton  State  College 
Digital  Computer  Society 

Dept,  of  Engineering  Technology 
Trenton  State  College 

I.E.E.E. 

Princeton  Section 


38  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


WHITE  CILUR 
NICMCRMRUKR 

By  James  S.  White 


Microcomputers  are  potentially  more  powerful  than 
large  computers,  because  they  can  practically  do  more 
things  than  can  large  computers.  The  truth  of  this  easily 
misunderstood  fact,  sure  to  shake  up  several  other  com- 
fortably accepted  notions  and  ways  of  life,  is  based  on 
the  two  terms  practically  ^nd  potentially. 

Practically,  microcomputers  can  do  more  because 
they  cost  less.  Therefore  they  can  be  cost-effective  in  a 
much  broader  range  of  applications.  The  purpose  of  a 
business  computer,  in  common  with  most  other  busi- 
ness tools,  is  to  increase  the  bottom  line  figure  or  net 
profit.  Therefore,  the  things  that  a business  computer 
can  be  used  for  are  determined  by  the  cost-effect  rela- 
tionship. Small  businesses  have  hundreds  of  functions 
which  are  adaptable  to  microcomputer  automation,  but 
never  have  been  and  probably  never  will  be  practical  for 
large  computers. 

Microcomputers  have  many  more  uses*  than  are  cur- 
rently being  offered,  or  suggested.  Many  of  these  poten- 
tial applications  need  only  a few  years  time  to  be  devel- 
oped and  brought  to  market.  {You  won’t  have  to  wait  the 
15  to  25  years  after  hardware  development  that  large 
computer  users  did.)  New  products  are  being  announced 
every  day,  examples  of  which  are  in  the  New  Products 
Section  of  this  issue. 

More  significant  than  comparisons  of  power,  speed, 
or  Interactiveness,  is  the  understanding  that  microcom- 
puters are  Just  different  than  large  computers.  Conse- 
quently, comparing  microcomputers  and  large  com- 
puters is  like  saying  that  apples  are  worse  than  oranges 
because  they  don’t  have  as  much  juice.  Following  such 
unequal  comparisons,  some  people  totally  relegate 
microcomputers  to  an  inferior  status,  and  fail  to  gain 
many  of  their  benefits. 

The  realization  of  the  important  potential  of  micro- 
computers will  come  when  developers  and  users  quit 
considering  them  as  shrunken  dinosaurs,  Microcom- 
puters are  a different  species,  with  their  own  unique 
characteristics.  In  some  characteristics,  such  as  pro- 
cessor speed  and  reliability,  small  computers  (mini’s 
and  micro’s),  generally  outrate  the  larger  systems.  In 
other  characteristics,  such  as  capability  of  traditional 
computing  peripherals,  microcomputers  tend  to  fall 
behind.  The  real  blossoming  of  the  potential  of  micro- 
computers is  waiting  on  their  acceptance  as  them- 
selves, not  as  little  brothers. 

Robotics  Is  one  start  towards  recognizing  and  apply- 
ing some  of  the  microcomputer’s  unique  capabilities. 
Only  a microcomputer,  particularly  those  using  the 
battery-powerable  CMOS  components,  can  provide 
practical  control  of  a functional  robot.  Many  other  ideas 
concerning  the  use  of  microcomputers  in  robotic  de- 
vices can  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

Perhaps,  as  a small  businessman,  you  can’t  yet  afford 
to  add  a robot  to  your  staff.  Anyway,  you  say,  "What 
could  a robot  do  for  me?”.  Wait!  — 


*The  word  ‘users'  can  be  directly  related  to  application  design. 
Applications  can  be  anything  from  payrolls  to  process  control. 


The  KIM  to  S-100  bus 
Interf ac  e/Motherboard 


* Combines  the  power  of  the  6502  with  the  flexibility  of 

the  S-100  bus 

* Attaches  to  any  unmodified  KIM 

* Complete  interface  logic  and  fully  buffered  motherboard 

in  one  unit 

* On-board  regulation  of  power  for  KIM 

* Eight  slots  of  S-100  compatibility  for  additional  RAM. 

Video  and  I/O  boards,  PROM  Programmers,  Speech 
processors . . . 

■ Includes  all  parts,  sockets  for  ICs,  one  100  pin  connector, 
and  full  Assembly /Op  crating  documentation 

♦ Kit  $125,  Assembled  $165  | 

♦ A//  unt£s  shipped  from  stock 

FORETHOUGHT  PRODUCTS 

«P.O.  Box  386 -E 
_ Coburg,  OR  97401 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  24 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  46 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  39 


Robert’s  Rent-a-Robot  has  just  introduced  some  inter- 
esting offerings  for  you!  The  stars  of  Star  Wars,  today's 
heroes  of  those  who  control  much  of  America's  spend- 
ing (i.e.,  kids),  are  available  to  promote  your  products.  A 
copy  of  R2-D2  can  be  rented  for  only  $2.55  per  hour  (no 
FICA  or  unemployment  taxes)  to  offer  pizza  samples, 
with  cute  lovable  background  noises,  to  your  grocery’s 
customers.  Other  robots  are  available  for  on-the-spot 
sales  of  oil  in  your  self-service  gasoline  station,  to 
beckon  street  traffic  into  your  fast  food  service  fran- 
chise, or  to  took  over  the  shoulders  of  the  school  kids 
coveting  the  goodies  in  the  aisles  of  your  candy  store. 
Okay,  Robert’s  doesn’t  really  exist  today,  but  the  possi- 
bilities do. 


Another,  more  conventional,  microcomputer  applica- 
tion is  the  GEM  Time  Machine.  Marketed  by  a real  com- 
pany {General  Electronics  Marketing  Corporation,  207 
Rhine  Street,  Watertown,  Wl  53094),  this  product  was  in- 
troduced at  the  January,  1978  Wisconsin  State  Bar  con- 
vention in  Milwaukee. 


Basically  a data  collection  system,  the  GEM  Time  Ma- 
chine can  be  used  by  lawyers  to  record  their  office  time 
spent  working  for  each  customer.  When  starting  or  fin- 
ishing an  activity,  the  lawyer  keys,  into  his  own  personal 
terminal,  data  identifying  the  customer  and  type  of  acti- 
vity. Other  legal  staff  workers  also  key  in  identifications 
of  what  they  have  been  or  will  be  working  on. 


Using  that  data  accumulated  for  any  desired  combina- 
tion of  project(s),  worker(s),  and/or  client(s),  reports  of 
time  and  dollars  accumulated  can  be  obtained  from  the 
system  at  any  time.  Dollar  rates  can  be  those  used  for 
cost  analysis,  billing,  or  other  purposes,  can  be  different 
for  each  individual  person,  and  can  be  calculated  by  the 
system  (for  example,  by  dividing  a day’s  pay  by  the 
number  of  hours  actually  worked).  Considerable  flexi- 


The  Complete  Microprocessor 

Can  be  used  for  hardware  and  software 
development,  program  development,  assembly 
& debugging  for  the  following  systems: 

Any  Intel  Microprocessor  (8080.  8085,  etc.) 

Any  Motorola  Microprocessor  (6800.  6802.  etc,) 

Texas  Instruments  9900  Family 
Zilog  Z-80 

Can  do  Prom,  burning  for  all  popular  types  of  Proms. 

Fuseable  Link  or  Ultra-Violet  types. 

Any  "Read  Only"  or  "Programmable  Only1’  memories. 

Quasar  Industries  General  Area  of  Expertise 
Include: 

* Hardware  and  Software 

* Micro-Computers 

* Geo-Physics,  Communications 

* Computer  Systems— Design/Development 

* Material  Handling  Control  Systems 

* Audio  Visual  Systems 

* Computer  Peripherals 

* Sattelite  Data  Transmission  Systems 

QUASAR  Industries 

59  Meadow  Road  • Rutherford,  New  Jersey  07070 

(201) 935-3640 

Western  Slates  Representative: 

Android  Amusement  Corp. 

2324  Lenta  Lane  * Arcadia,  California  91006 

{213)  445-5330  or  (21 3)  266-1994 


bility  is  available  to  allow  each  report  requester  to  deter- 
mine the  time  and  type-of-actmty  scope  of  his  report, 
the  amount  of  detail  provided,  and  the  media  on  which 
the  report  is  presented.  Automated  invoicing  is  another 
possible  end  result,  A large  computer  could  do  these 
jobs,  but  for  unrealistically  high  costs.  Hand  methods 
have  been  affordable  without  providing  now-possible 
accuracy,  detail,  and  timeliness.  This  is  a prime  example 
of  the  cost  effectiveness  and  practicality  of  a microcom- 
puter application. 

Law  office  timekeeping  is  probably  not  the  most  pro- 
ductive application  for  systems  such  as  the  GEM  Time 
Machine.  This  system  can  have  thousands  of  terminals, 
each  different  and  each  with  as  much  or  as  little  of  its 
own  computing  power  as  desired  by  the  user.  One  result 
could  be  a much  more  complete  and  flexible  small  busi- 
ness management  information  system,  than  now  exists 
in  many  businesses.  When  well  utilized,  this  capability 
could  provide,  to  managers  in  a variety  of  industries,  a 
completeness  of  objective  knowledge  and  control  which 
could  revolutionize  the  management  profession. 

Present  features  of  the  GEM  Time  Machine  are  also 
only  the  beginning  of  those  normally  expected.  Accounts 
payable,  accounts  receivable,  general  ledger,  informa- 
tion retrieval,  and  word  processing  are  being  developed. 
These  applications  are  important  and  practical  for  the 
legal  profession,  and  use  the  same  hardware  used  for 
time  logging.  Because  this  system  includes  a BASIC 
language,  (which  has  several  features,  such  as  variable 
precision  from  3 to  31  digits,  and  array  with  up  to  15  sub- 
scripts),  users  can  add  their  own  application  programs. 
The  greatest  benefits  will  be  realized  by  the  user  who  in- 
tegrates these  applications,  using  the  multiprocessing 
capabilities  of  this  and  similar  systems. 

Another  application  example,  which  exemplifies  the 
novel  use  of  computers,  is  the  use  of  a Wang  computer 
to  replace  the  entire  crew  for  the  236-foot  yacht  Club 
Mediterranee,  the  second  place  winner  in  the  1976 
OSTAR  race  between  Plymouth,  England,  and  Newport, 
Rhode  Island.  The  only  person  aboard  the  yacht  for  the 
25*day  voyage  was  skipper  and  computer  operator  Alain 
Colas.  The  crew  was  programmed  by  Compagnte  Inter- 
nationale Service  Llnformatsque.  The  French  nationality 
of  both  programmers  and  operator/skipper  also  provides 
an  example  of  European  computing  expertise. 

As  a continuous  watch  slander,  the  computer’s  job  was 
to  monitor  24  instruments.  The  computer-integrated  man- 
agement information  system  was  well  designed  to  pre- 
sent only  exception  or  requested  information,  rather  than 
all  the  details  that  enthrall  some  users  new  to  computers. 

One  instrument  was  a hygrometer,  with  the  computer 
programmed  to  sound  an  alarm,  {to  awaken  the  sleeping 
skipper},  whenever  humidity  approached  a fog  level. 
Another  instrument  produced  a computer  alarm  whenever 
the  Club  Mediterranee  received  strong  radar  signals  from 
another  ship,  a function  particularly  important  because 
race  rules  prohibited  active  radar  on  all  competing 
vessels.  Other  Instruments  checked  for  unacceptable 
course  deviations,  leaking  propane  or  hydrogen,  and  for 
overcharge  of  batteries  by  the  wind  vane  generator. 

The  computer-crew  also  performed  data  processing 
functions,  such  as  calculating  locations  from  sextant 
redings,  and  planning  ideal  courses,  considering  the 
earth's  curvature.  Morse  code  weather  reports  were  also 
decoded  and  printed  as  received. 

For  those  with  landlocked  businesses,  or  those  just 
thawing  out  from  a long  deep  winter,  a yacht  race  may 
seem  unrealistically  distant.  However,  these  three  appli- 
cations give  examples  of  the  potential  power  of  micro- 
computers. Next  month,  a more  precise  look  at  micro- 
computer applications.^ 


40  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  45 


APRIL  1978 


MlffiOMATOKl 


THE  GROWTH  SYSTEM 

Micromation  introduces  the  EXP  series 
of  expandable  floppy  disks.  Systems 
designed  to  be  reliable,  versatile, 
and  to  expand  with  the  needs  of 

your  system. 


UNDER  $2,000  SYSTEMS 

A complete  dual-drive  system  is  available  for  under  two  thousand 
dollars.  And  there  are  no  high  priced  options — write  protect  and 
front  panel  activity  light  are  standard.  And  since  the  EXF  series  is 
based  upon  proven  components  and  the  drives  are  manufactured  by 
a major  supplier,  the  systems  are  available  in  less  than  four  weeks 
from  receipt  of  your  order. 

EXP-1  Single  drive  system  $1,195* 

EXP-2  Dual  drive  system  1,895* 

CP/M  with  BASIC  95. 


MACRO  DISK 


STEP  UP  TO  DOUBLE-HEADED 

New  double-headed  drives  record  data  on  both  sides  of  a diskette  — 
But  no  manufacturer  is  delivering  them  yet.  When  these  new  double- 
headed  drives  become  available,  single  headed  drives  will  be  ob- 
solete—except  for  the  EXP  series.  Because  Micromation  guarantees 
to  exchange  any  EXP  series  single-headed  drive  for  a double-headed 
drive — at  a cost  of  only  $300  per  drive. 

You  can  also  upgrade  your  system  to  double  density  in  the  third 
quarter  with  our  double  density  controller  conversion  for  only  $300. 

So  the  dual  drive  system  that  you  buy  now  has  a capacity  of  over 
500  K Bytes,  but  can  be  increased  to  a capacity  of  two  megabytes. 
Your  system  will  grow  with  new  technology — not  be  obsoleted  by  it. 

SOLID  SOFTWARE  SUPPORT 

The  Micromation  disk  controller  features  IBM  3740  compatibility— 
and  the  proven  CP/M*  operating  system*  You  can  also  choose  be- 
tween high  level  languages  such  as  BASIC  AND  FORTRAN  or  com- 
plete business  application  and  word  processing  packages. 


A COMPLETE,  ASSEMBLED  SYSTEM 

AH  Micromation  systems  are  fully  assembled  and  tested.  There's 
even  a serial  I/O  port  on  the  controller  to  make  it  easy  to  bring  the 
system  up.  Just  connect  your  terminal  to  the  serial  port*  install  in  any 
16K  S-100  system,  jump  to  the  on-board  PROM  bootstrap — and 
youTre  up  and  running  without  any  patching.  Or  you  can  choose  op- 
tional I/O  drivers  for  the  SOL  computer, 

EXP  systems  are  complete — including  drives.  S-iOQ  controller* 
power  supply*  and  handsome  Scandinavian  style  wood  and  metal 
enclosure. 

RELIABILITY 

EXP  drives  are  manufactured  by  Memo  rex,  the  oldest  independent 
manufacturer  of  floppy  drives.  And  we  stand  behind  them.  All 
Micromation  EXP  series  products  are  warranteed  for  a full  six 
months.  An  optional  one  year  warranty  extension  is  also  available. 


COMPLETE  COMPUTER  SYSTEMS 

Microma  lion's  EXPSYS  is  a complete  computer  system.  It  includes 
a Z-80  processor  with  32K  of  memory,  serial  I/O  ports  and  EXP 
series  drives.  An  optional  video  interface,  monitor,  and  keyboard 
are  also  available.  An  S-100  mother  board  allows  the  system  to  be 
configured  to  your  custom  requirements.  Yet  prices  for  this  com- 
plete dual-drive  computer  system  start  at  less  than  $4,000,  The  sys- 
tems are  fully  assembled  and  tested  with  our  full  warranty  and  up- 
grade policy,  of  course. 

EXFSYS-l  Single  drive  32K  Z-6Q  computer  £3.295. 

EXPSYS-2  Dual  drive  32K  Z-8G  computer  3,995* 

Micromation  dealers  are  listed  on  the  adjacent  page.  Check  the 
List  for  dealer  nearest  you  or  ask  at  your  favorite  computer 
S tore.  * CP/M  is  a t rad  ema  rjt  of  Digital  Resea  rcti 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  34 


INTERFACE  AGE  41 


MU  MIND 

amUUIMN 

By  Meri  Miller 


In  a way,  this  new  column  on  artificial  intelligence  re- 
places “Programming  the  Human  Computer”  whenever 
an  interesting  subject  comes  up. 

The  primary  purpose  of  this  column  is  to  exchange 
some  information  on  artificial  intelligence  and,  perhaps, 
start  a dialogue  on  the  philosophical,  cognitional,  proce- 
dural, mechanical  and  electronic  aspects  of  artificial 
intelligence. 

As  background,  you  should  know  that  I am  a novice  in 
this  area.  I am  an  industrial  engineer  with  a little  training 
in  electronics  and  no  formal  training  in  computers.  I 
publish  books  as  a profession  and  study  (and  play  with) 
computers  as  a hobby.  What  all  this  means  is  that  any 
information  I pass  on  to  you  is  a layman’s  interpretation 
of  what  the  experts  think.  Any  opinions  I express  are 
mine  and  may  have  no  basis  in  fact.  If  you  think  I am  way 
off  base,  please  feel  free  to  tell  me  (and  everyone  else 
you  know,  if  that’s  your  bent). 

Before  we  can  talk  about  something  being  artificial, 
we  have  to  what  the  “something”  is.  This  gets  a bit  dif- 
ficult when  the  “something”  we’re  trying  to  do  some- 
thing to  is  intelligence.  Webster  defines  intelligence  as 
“the  ability  to  learn  or  understand  from  experience;  the 
ability  to  acquire  and  retain  knowledge;  the  ability  to 
respond  quickly  and  successfully  to  a new  situation . . 
That  should  tell  you  something.  I’m  not  sure  what,  but  it 
does  give  us  a starting  point. 

The  first  discovery  you  will  make  is  that  some  of  the 
people  in  this  field  are  a little  different.  Not  the  least  of 
these  is  Nels  Winkless.  Nels  is  a reformed  magazine 
editor  who  now  spends  some  of  his  time  writing  books. 
Being  a confirmed  layman,  he  sought  the  aid,  assis- 
tance and  general  knowledge  of  robotics  pioneer,  Iben 
Browning.  Together,  they  conspired  on  an  excellent  lit- 
tle book,  ROBOTS  ON  YOUR  DOORSTEP.  Following  are 
some  of  their  observations  on  intelligence: 

“Human  beings  may  be  distinguished  from  rocks 
and  trees  largely  by  their  superior  intelligence. 
Rocks  and  trees  seldom  do  anything  surprising, 
even  then  their  environments  change  sharply  and 
danger  threatens. 

If  you  approach  a rock  with  a sledge  hammer, 
making  every  visible  indication  of  your  intent  to 
break  the  rock  into  small  pieces  so  that  it  loses  its 
identity  completely,  the  rock  does  not  react  detect- 
ably  to  this  bad  news. 

A bystander  may  intercede  with  a woodman 
when  he  approaches  a tree  with  an  ax,  but  the  tree 
itself  makes  no  obvious  protest  to  the  proceedings. 

If  the  rock  or  the  tree  simply  panicked  and 
thrashed  about,  their  chances  of  survival  as  enti- 
ties would  be  improved,  but  they  don’t  take  any 
steps  to  avoid  hazards.  We  regard  them  as  highly 
unintelligent. 

The  definition  of  intelligence  is  an  arbitrary  mat- 
ter, and  no  definition  of  which  we  are  aware  satis- 


fies more  then  a handful  of  interested  parties  at  a 
time.  Given  a free  hand,  we  define  intelligence  as: 
the  ability  to  do  something  appropriate  under 
unpredictable  conditions 
Human  beings  do  a great  many  appropriate,  un- 
predictable things  under  circumstances  that  csfl I 
for  action  to  permit  survival.  We  regard  human  be- 
ings as  the  most  intelligent  of  the  things  with 
which  we  have  any  direct  experience.  In  between 
people  and  rocks,  we  find  a scalar  assortment  of 
things  with  varying  degrees  of  Intel  I igence.”* 

Okay,  so  you  see  their  idea  of  intelligence;  but  how 
does  that  relate  to  computers?  Try  this: 

A computer  may  very  well  have  sensors  that  give 
it  contact  with  the  outside  world,  thermometers, 
accelerometers,  light  sensors,  microphones,  what 
have  you.  These  sensors  funnel  data  to  the  compu- 
ter’s central  processing  unit,  sometimes  by  way  of 
filters,  and  preprocessors  that  strain  out  or  collate 
data  so  that  the  CPU  receives  only  comparatively 
high  level  stuff,  and  doesn’t  have  to  waste  its  time 
on  trivia  or  irrelevancies. 

The  computer  compares  this  incoming  stuff 
with  information  it  has  stored  in  its  separate  mem- 
ory unit,  sorting  the  incoming  stuff  for  patterns. 

in  effect,  the  CPU  has  input  from  both  sensors 
and  memory  and  it  pumps  out  signals  for  action 
based  on  comparison  of  these  sets  of  data. 

That’s  where  the  analogy  with  the  human  brain 
breaks  down.  The  human  brain  seems  to  have  no 
separate  memory  file.  The  original  instructions  for 
construction  of  the  brain  didn’t  call  for  building  a 
compartment  for  data  storae  and  didn’t  provide  a 
file  of  data  to  store  in  such  a compartment. 

Remember,  the  neurons  are  interconnected  ran- 
domly. It  is  a hotly  debated  conjecture  that  mean- 
ing is  acquired  by  the  brain  strictly  from  exper- 
ience. That  is,  useful  patterns  of  activity  develop 
in  the  brain  only  because  of  experience  acquired 
after  its  gross  structural  ordering  and  random 
structural  detailing. 

Notice  that  some  of  the  very  large  electronic  in- 
tegrated circuits  are  manufactured  today  by  an 
analogous  process.  For  example,  a huge  array  of 
diodes  may  be  laid  out  on  a silicon  chip,  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  them,  all  interconnected  in 
every  possible  way.  This  array  of  diodes  has  no 
meaning.  You  can’t  use  the  massive  array  for  do- 
ing work  because  everything  is  connected  to 
everything  else.  However,  chips  containing  all  of 
these  potentially  useful  components  are  placed  in 
programming  devices  that  convert  them  into  dis- 
tinctly different,  useful  circuits  as  desired.  The 
programmer  burns  away  a large  number  of  connec- 
ting paths  between  components,  leaving  only  a 


42  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


The  Dumb  Terminal 
lets  you  put  it  all  together. 


I would  like  more-inf  or- 


rnoll  me  Chi 

te  Dumb  terminal 


Titled; 


■1.  . Name. 


sparry 


'Dumb  Terminal"  is  a trademark  of  Lea?  Siegter,  Iric,r 
E.I.D./Data  Products,  714  N.  Brookhurst  St,  Anaheim/CA 
92803,  (800)  854-3805,  In  California  (714)  774-1010.. 


With  the  new,  lower -priced  Dumb  Terminal™  Kit,  that  is. 
Pick  one  up  and  escape,  once  and  for  aH,  the  headaches 
of  scavenged  teletypes  and  jury -rigged  TV  sets.  With  just 
a little  time  and  aptitude,  you  can  have  a live  and  working 
Dumb  Terminal  right  in  your  own  home,  garage,  or 
business.  One  that  lets  you  get  it  all  out  of  your  system 
— or  into  it. 

Forget  the  cheap  imitations,  with  their  overblown 
price  tags  and  interminable  lists  of  options.  With 
the  Kit,  you  can  build  yourself  the  same,  old 
basic  Dumb  Terminal  that's  been  selling  over 
1500  units  a month.  With  basic,  sensible 
features  like  a bright  12"  diagonal  screen. 

Fifty -nine  data  entry  keys.  1920  characters 
displayed  in  24  rows  of  80  letters.  Plus  33 
positive  action  switches  that  let  you  activate 
functions  like  1 of  1 1 different  baud  rates,  an 
RS232C  interface,  or  a 20mA  current -loop. 

And  more.  Not  bad  for  Dumb 

All  you  need,  besides  the  Kit,  is 
some  initiative,  and  a few  basic 
tools  — a good  soldering  iron, 
wire  cutters,  needle -nose  pliers, 
and  one  or  two  trusty  screw- 
drivers. The  Dumb  Terminal 
Kit  provides  you  with  every- 
thing else  Including  an 
attractive  cabinet,  CRT 
screen,  keyboard,  PC 
board,  and  all  essential 


electronic  components.  NaturaEy,  you  also  get  illustrated, 
step-by-step  assembly  instructions,  not  to  mention  an 
easy -to -understand  operator's  manual. 

So,  if  you'd  like  more  input  on  the  Dumb  Terminal 
Kit,  just  fill  out  the  coupon  and  well  send  you  complete, 
free  information. 

Oh,  and  by  the  way,  just  by  sending  in  the  coupon, 
you  will  be  made  a charter  member  of  the  Dumb 
Terminal  Fan  Club.  A select  organization  that  will 
send  you  your  own  nifty  Dumb  Terminal  Fan 
Club  Kit,  containing:  an  official  certificate 
of  membership;  an  autographed  photo  of  the 
Dumb  Terminal  himself;  and  a bona  fide 
membership  card  to  prove  irrefutably  you're 
"One  of  Us"  (Sorry,  limit  one  kit  per  person ) 
And,  if  you  include  a trifling  $6.00,  you 
can  have  your  very  own  Dumb  Terminal 
T-shirt.  (No  limit  at  all  on  these.) 

Simply  mail  the  coupon  and  get  the  whole 
assortment.  And  find  out  why  members  of  the 
Dumb  Terminal  Fan  Club  are  some  of 
WW  the  smartest  people  around. 

n> 


Dumb  Terminal. 
Fun  Club. 


for  an  official  Dumb  Terminal  Tshirt(s). 

Please  make  all  checks  and  money  orders  payable  to  Le  Ance  & Reiser,  OK? 
Quantity  and  sizefe)  of  shiri(s)  required: _S _M  . _L  — „XL 

Rush  this  application  to:  Dumb  Terminal  Fan  Club  Headquarter^ 
c/o  LeAnceJ&  Reiser,  PO.  Box  17123,  Irvine,  CA  92714. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  30 


1 


PRAMMER  III 

by  xybek 

The  Ultimate  EPROM  Memory  Board 
For  Your  SI  00-Bus  Computer 

★ Accommodates  from  1 k to  30k  of  the  above  EPROMS,  in 

any  combination,  each  addressable  on  any  Ik  (2k  for 
2716)  boundary  within  the  board  s 32k  address  space 

★ Ik  of  scratch-pad  RAM 

★ On-board  programming  for  all  three  EPROM  types 

★ Tri-state  buffers  on  all  address  and  data  lines. 

★ Empty  EPROM  sockets  do  not  require  address  space 

★ Assembled,  tested,  ready  to  run  — only  S 369.50 


xybek 


• P.O.Box 4925  • Stanford, CA 94305 

Telephone:  (408)  296-8188 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  64 


16K  STATIC  RAM 

THE  WAY  YOU  LIKE  IT 

Assembled  and  tested $595 

Guaranteed  for  one  full  year 

16K  kit  $525 

8K  kit  : $295 

Kit  with  all  but  2 1 1 4 memories $88 

BIANK  BOARD $35 

COMPARE  THESE  FEATURES: 


• S-100  BUS  COMPATABLE 

• COMPLETELY  STATIC  WITH  NO  CLOCKED  CHIP-SELECT  OR  REFRESH 

• WILL  RUN  ON  2-80  SYSTEMS  AT  4 Mh*  WITH  NO  WAIT  STATES 

• WILL  RUN  ON  ALPHA  MICROSYSTEMS  AM- 100  AND  ON  DMA  SYSTEMS 

• USES  2114  MEMORIES-AN  INDUSTRY  STANDARD 

• HAS  INDIVIDUALLY  ADDRESSABLE  4K  BLOCKS  OF  MEMORY 

• SOFTWARE  WRITE  PROTECTION  IN  4K  BLOCKS 

• PACING  OR  BANK  SELECT  FEATURE  FOR  MEMORY  EXPANSION  AND  LOW 
SOFTWARE  OVERHEAD  TIMESHARING  SYSTEMS 

• COMPLETELY  BUFFERED  ADDRESS  AND  DATA  LINES 

• SINGLE  8 VOLT  POWER  SUPPLY 

• HIGH  QUALITY.  LOW  PROFILE  SOCKETS  FOR  ALL  ICS 

• SOLDER  MASKED  P.C.  BOARD  AND  SCREENED  PARTS  PLACEMENT  LEGEND 
FOR  EASE  OF  CONSTRUCTION  AND  DEPENDABILITY 

s-100  BUSTERMINATING  BOARD  $25 

Absorbs  noise,  overshoot,  ringing,  reflection. 

S-100  EXTENDER  BOARD  $16 

With  jumpers  in  power  supply  lines  for  current  measurements.  Low  profile 
so  Crtrd  can  remain  in  the  machine  wilh  cover  on.  Wide  edge  connector. 

PRICES  SHOWN  INCLUDE  U S.  SHIPPING.  WE  ACCEPT  VISA.  MASTER  CHARGE. 
CASHIERS  CHECK.  M.O.  ALLOW  TIME  FOR  PERSONAL  CHEC  KS  TO  CLEAR  t.O.L) 
ORDERS  ADD  SI  UTAH  RESIDENTS  ADD  AW  TAX. 


Digital  Micro  Svstems 

BOX  1212,  OREM,  UTAH  84057 
(801)  224-2102 


particular  pattern  of  connections  that  tie  the  com- 
ponents together  in  a meaningful  way. 

The  original  chip  has  the  potential  of  becoming 
whatever  you  want,  within  certain  practical  limits. 
You  alter  the  original  to  meet  requirements  that 
make  the  effort  worthwhile. 

Not  to  belabor  this  ...  the  brain  is  much  the 
same.  It’s  all  wired  up,  ready  to  be  used  for  some- 
thing, anything.  It  has  to  learn  how  to  respond  in  a 
practical  way  to  sensory  stimulus  from  the  real 
world.  Its  greatest  potential  is  when  it  knows  least. 

It  uses  the  potential  up  as  it  learns  . . . but  never 
saturates,  as  far  as  we  know. 

A baby  is  a simulated  adult.  Lucky  thing.3 

So  far,  we  have  defined  intelligence  and  given  some 
examples.  But  we  still  haven’t  explained  it.  This,  then,  is 
the  essence  of  the  problem:  No  one  really  understands 
just  exactly  what  intelligence  is.  All  we  can  really  do  is 
talk  around  it.  But  maybe  by  doing  this  we  can  learn  to 
simulate  it  and  create  thinking  machines. 

Let’s  start  by  examining  intelligent  behavior.  Table  I 
shows  four  levels  of  intelligent  behavior.  These  levels 
apply  to  any  behavior,  regardless  of  its  origin,  i.e.,  they 
apply  equally  well  to  a mouse,  a human  or  a robot. 

If  you  designed  four  robot  mice  to  run  through  a maze, 
and  each  one  had  a different  level  of  intelligent  behavior, 
how  would  they  run  the  maze?  Mouse  #1  (associative) 
would  blunder  through  the  maze  until  it  reached  the  first 
barrier.  It  would  then  back  up,  turn  and  go  straight  ahead 
again  until  it  got  out  of  the  maze. 

You  would  give  Mouse  #2  (explicit)  a set  of  simple 
rules  to  follow,  I.e.,  always  turn  right  when  you  reach  a 
barrier.  As  long  as  your  rules  applied  to  the  maze  Mouse 
#2  was  in,  it  would  go  through  at  a good  pace.  In  fact, 
the  better  your  rules  and  the  more  applicable  they  were 
to  the  problem,  the  better  your  mouse  would  do. 

You  would  give  Mouse  #3  (formal)  some  idea  about  how 
to  run  the  maze,  let  it  practice  on  similar  mazes  and  turn  it 
loose.  The  more  times  it  ran  the  maze,  the  better  it  would 
get,  until  it  could  run  it  in  the  shortest  possible  time. 

Mouse  #4  (nonformal)  would  analyze  the  maze,  run  it, 
and  design  a new  maze. 

This  is,  of  course,  a simplified  version  of  what  these 
different  levels  of  intelligence  represent.  The  problem 
with  all  of  this  is  no  one  has  yet  figured  out  how  to  build 
a Mouse  #4.  Are  we  ever  going  to  build  a Mouse  #4?  Who 
knows?  It  is  sure  going  to  be  fun  trying. □ 


TABLE  1 

• Four  Levels  of  Intelligent  Behavior  j 

Level 

Example 
of  Capability 

Characteristic 

Program 

Associative 

maze  problems;  word- 
by  word  translation; 
recall  games 

repetition 

list 

Explicit 

recognition  of  simple 
patterns,  such  as  an 
OCR  scanner;  comput- 
able games,  such  as 
Nim,  Tic-Tac-Toe  or 
some  versions  of 
Star  Trek 

all  meanings  are  expli- 
cit; I.e.,  they  can't  be 
altered  by  the  situation; 
the  program  follows  a 
set  of  rules 

algorithm 

Formal 

chess,  complex 
pattern  searches 

situation  dependent; 
i.e.,  program  learns  by 
both  example  & practice 

heuristic 

Nonformal 

creativity;  problem 
solving 

non-explicit  meaning; 
i.e.,  adapts  to  the  situa- 
tion; learns  by  examin- 
ing examples 

none  (yeti) 

’Webster’s  New  World  Dictionary  of  the  American  Language, 
College  Edition,  New  World  Publishing  Company 
JNels  Winkless  and  Iben  Browning,  ROBOTS  ON  YOUR  DOOR- 
STEP, Robotics  Press. 

3lbid. 


44  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  16 


APRIL  1978 


with  a full-size,  low-cost  impact  printer. 


Until  now.  the  hobbyist  and  small  businessman  have  had  one  major  problem  in  assembling  a reasonably  priced 
microprocessor  system  with  the  capabilities  found  in  the  more  costly  computers.  It  was  impossible  to  find  a 
high-quality,  high-output  printer  for  hard  copy  needs  at  an  affordable  price. 

Peripheral  Vision  has  come  up  with  a solution. 

We  are  offering  a full-size  impact  printer  designed  for  microprocessors— and  it  comes  with  a mini  price.  Prices 
start  as  low  as  $540  for  the  printer,  interface  card  kit.  and  the  power  supply.  And  that  won't  impact  your 
pocketbook. 

Peripheral  Vision’s  printer  is  loaded  with  capabilities.  Take  a took: 
a It’s  fast— 120  characters  per  second 

a 96  characters  per  line,  12  characters  per  inch  horizontal.  6 lines  per  inch 

■ Makes  up  to  4 copies  simultaneously 

■ 5x7  character  matrix 

■ Ribbon  has  built-in  re-inkers  for  a life  of  10,000.000  characters 

■ Paper  can  be  either  a standard  8’/2-inch  roll,  fanfold  or  cut  page 

■ Interfaces  to  8-bit  parallel  ports  (one  input  & one  output) 

■ Compatible  with  the  S-100  bus  (use  our  optional  parallel  port  card) 

Just  remember.  Peripheral  Vision  is  committed  to  helping  you  get  along  with  your  computer.  As  an  example, 
the  printer  we  are  offering  is  high  in  quality,  low  in  cost  and  will  definitely  impact  your  system.  Other  examples 
include  Floppy  Disk  Drive  systems,  Digital  Cassette  systems,  Stand  Alone  Audio  Cassette  interfaces  and  our 
inexpensive  Keyboard. 


□ Send  me  more  information  on  how  to  impact  my  computer! 

□ OK,  here’s  my  $540,  send  a printer  kit. 

□ Here’s  $695  for  an  assembled  & tested  printer.  And  thanks! 


Name  Company 


Address  Cily  State  Zip 

(BanKAmericard/VlSA.  Master  Charge  or  COD  s also  welcome  ) 

APRIL  1978  CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  42 


INC. 


PO.  Box  6267/Denver.  Colorado  80206  303/777-4292 


INTERFACE  AGE  45 


TM 


iiuTEnraLE  « BE 


The  magazine  that  puts 
microcomputing  in  your  hands. 


Name 


i“\TTqnn 


floppy  notn 

Ih*  Waid  PiomW* 


In  issues  you've  missed  we've  presented... 

* A way  to  improve  your  chances  of  success  in  a business 
venture. 

* A complete  general  ledger  and  payroll  accounting 
program  with  documentation, 

* A new  design  for  typewriter  keyboards  that  obsoletes 
the  electric  typewriter. 

* A program  that  can  assist  you  in  writing  reports  and 
letters. 

* A program  to  plan  your  investment  in  income  property. 

Copyright  1978  INTERFACE  AGE,  Inc.  All  Rights  Reserved. 


Address _ 

City State Zip 

□ Visa  Card  □ Master  Charge 

Acct.  No. Exp.  Date 

Si  gnatu  re 

Check  or  money  order  (US,  Funds  drawn  on  US.  Bank) 
Make  checks  payable  to:  INTERFACE  AGE  MAGAZINE 
RO.  Box  1234  Dept.  Cemtosr  CA  90701 
□ Please  send  in/orma/ion  on  issues  available  back  ?o  1975. 


Articles  ranging  from  the  fundamentals  of  com- 
puters to  languages  and  system  design,  tutorials,  ac- 
tivities, and  new  product  releases  to  help  you  get  started 
in  microcomputing  and  keep  up  with  the  industry. 

Get  a hold  of  the  information  you  need.  Subscribe  to 
Interface  Age  today.  Save  $7  over  newsstand  price. 

12  Monthly  Issues:  S14  US.;  S16  Canada/ Mexico;  S24  Interna- 
tiona 1.  24  Issues:  S24  US.;  S2S  Canada/  Mexico.  36  Issues: 

S36  US.;  $42  Canada/ Mexico. 


Technology  has  brought  the  computer  within  your 
grasp.  Interface  Age  puts  it  in  your  hands. 

The  small  businessman  like  yourself  is  aware  of  the 
progress  made  in  microcomputing. 

What  you  may  not  have  is  an  update  of  what  is 
happening  in  microcomputer  development  and  what 
discoveries  might  save  you  money  and  increase  your 
computer's  usefulness. 


Interface  Age  has  the  information  you  need. 


. . J5L. 


By  Elliott  MacLennan 

Attorney- at -Law 

Stephen  Murtha 

PATENTS,  COPYRIGHTS  AND  TRADEMARKS 

One  of  the  areas  the  computer  entrepreneur  needs  to 
understand  is  how  business  assets  are  protected  by  the 
law  ot  patents,  copyrights  and  trademarks.  At  one  point 
or  another  the  businessman  will  either  want  to  protect 
hts  own  ideas,  or  to  use  someone  else's.  Whether  or  not 
he  can,  will  depend  on  how  this  specialized  body  of  law 
applies  to  his  particular  situation.  Needless  to  say,  the 
problems  involved  are  complex,  depend  on  each  indivi- 
dual case,  and  require  the  specific  advice  of  an  attorney 
who  specializes  in  these  fields.  The  subject  is  too  com- 
plicated for  full  coverage  here,  but  this  column  will  at- 
tempt to  at  least  familiarize  the  reader  with  the  termi- 
nology and  basic  concepts. 

A patent  is  a grant  from  the  government  of  the  right  to 
exclude  others  from  making,  using,  or  selling  the  pat- 
ented device  during  a specified  time;  it  constitutes  a 
legitimate  monopoly.  In  the  ILS.  a patent  is  granted  for  a 
term  of  17  years.  This  term  is  nonrenewable. 

To  secure  a patent,  an  application  is  filed  with  the  Pat- 
ent  and  Trademark  Office.  Full  disclosure  must  be  made. 
While  the  patent  application  is  pending  in  the  Patent 
Office,  it  is  kept  secret.  Until  a patent  is  actually  issued, 
the  person  applying  for  a patent  has  no  legal  rights  or  re- 
course against  infringement.  If  the  Patent  Office  is  noti- 
fied of  the  infringement,  the  examination  of  the  applica- 
tion can  be  accelerated,  but  there  stilt  may  be  consider- 
able delay  before  a patent  is  issued. 

To  discourage  infringements  during  this  vulnerable 
period,  the  patented  device  can  be  marked  with  the 
words  “patent  pending"  or  their  abbreviation.  Whiie  this 
designation  has  no  legal  significance,  it  does  put  poten- 
tial infringers  on  notice  that  a patent  is  being  sought. 
Most  companies  will  then  think  twice  about  copying  the 
device,  since  it  is  impossible  to  tell  when  a patent  pro- 
tecting the  device  might  actually  issue.  Conceivably,  a 
patent  could  issue  before  the  infringer  got  its  device  on 
the  market,  and  all  of  the  money  spent  on  start-up  costs 
would  be  jeopardized. 

The  requirements  for  patentability  are  that  the  device 
be  useful,  new  and  not  obvious  from  what  is  already 
known  in  the  art.  Much  difficulty  is  encountered  in  deter- 
mining what  is  nonobvious.  Patentability  is  decided  in 
the  first  instance  by  the  Patent  Office  when  it  decides  to 
reject  or  to  issue  a patent,  but  its  decision  is  subject  to 
court  review  and  federal  courts  have  the  authority  to 
declare  patents  invalid.  Enforcement  of  patents  through 
litigation  is  complicated,  expensive,  time-consuming, 
and  chancy,  but  a properly  managed  patent  program  can 
provide  a decided  competitive  advantage,  and  consti- 
tutes an  important  business  asset.  Patents  can  serve  as 
favorable  tax  vehicles  for  inventors,  since  royalties  are 
faxed  as  capital  gains. 


REAL  TIME  CLOCK 
FOR  S-100  BUS 

* 1 MHZ  CRYSTAL  OSCILLATOR 

* TWO  INDEPENDENT  INTERRUPTS 

* ONE  INTERRUPT  USES  16  BIT  COUNTER 
IN  10  USEC  STEPS 

* OTHER  INTERRUPT  IS  IN  DECADE 
STEPS  FROM  100  USEC  TO  10  SEC 

* BOTH  SOFTWARE  PROGRAMMABLE 

* BOARD  CAN  BE  SELECTED  BY  128  DEVICE  CODE  PAIRS 

* COMPLETE  DOCUMENTATION  INCLUDES  SOFTWARE 
TO  DISPLAY  TIME  OF  DAY 

* DOUBLE  SIDED  SOLDER  MASK 

* SILK  SCREEN  PARTS  LAYOUT 

$30.  BARE  $199.  KIT 
$229.  ASSEMBLED  AND  TESTED 

DEALER  mO UtfilES  INVITED  UNIVERSITY  DISCOUNTS  AVAILABLE 

W7W/T  - ™ WAWEC0I*C' 

■-  **  ///“  iJ7C.  3107  LANEVIEW  DRIVE  SAN  JOSE  CA  95T32 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  61  ~ 


16K  RAM 


$450 


FULLY  STATIC 

INTRODUCTORY 
KIT  PRICE 


10  SLOT  TABLE  TOP 
MICROCOMPUTERS 
TT-8080  KIT  $440 

SYSTEM  VW16K  & I/O 
TT-8080-S  KIT  $1050 

10-SLOT  MAIN  FRAME 
TT-10  KIT  $325 


CARD  CAGE  & 
MOTHER  BOARD 
ECT-100  KIT  $100 
CCMB-10  KIT  $75 
WITH  CONNECTORS 
& GUIDES 

ECT-1Q0-F  KIT  $200 
CCMB-10-F  KIT  $125 


CPU'S,  MEMORY 
MOTHER  BOARDS 
PROTOTYPING  BOARDS 
EXTENDER  CARDS 
POWER  SUPPLIES 
DEALER  INQUIRIES  INVITED  SHIPPING  EXTRA 

ELECTRONIC  CONTROL  TECHNOLOGY 

FACTORY  ADDRESS  MAILING  ADDRESS 

763  Ramsey  Avenue  P.O.  Box  6 

Hillside,  NJ  07205  Union,  NJ  07083 

(2011  686-8080 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  19 


INTERFACE  AGE  47 


See  The 
Latest ! 


TEI  will  be  showing  our  complete  new 
line  of  microcomputer  mainframes  and 

systems  at 

MINI/MICRO  78 
Civic  Center  — Philadelphia  PA 
April  18-20,  Booths  727-729 

78  NATIONAL  COMPUTER  CONFERENCE 
Disneyland  Hotel  — Anaheim  CA 
c- no  June  5-8,  Booths  48-49 

lo 


MCS 


SffCtAl  1VS1EM&  OGQuf 


M1CBOCOMPUTEB  SYjTI  M. 


CMC  MARKETING  CORP 

5601  Bintliff  Suite  515  • Houston  Texas  77036 

(713)  783-8880 
National  distributors  for  TEI  Products 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  7 


PROGRAMMABLE 


Scientist 

100  STEP  rS 
LEARN  MODE,  A 
KEYBOARD  ^ 
PROGRAMMING 
CAPABILITY 
■ RPN  logic  * Roll- 
able  4J©vel  stack  * 
8-digit  plus  2-digit 
exponent  LED  dis- 
play * Scientific  no- 
tation ■ Sine,  co- 
sine, tangent  & in- 
verse trigonomet- 
ric functions  * Com- 
mon & natural  log- 
arithms & antilog- 
arithms * Instant 
automatic  calcula- 


ll 

Ml 


100  STEPS 

tions  Of  powers  & 
roots  * Single-key 
square  root  calcu- 
lations • Single-key 
Pi  entry  * Separate 
storage  memory  * 
Square,  square  root 
and  reciprocal  cal- 
culations • Change 
sign  & register  ex- 
change keys  • In- 
cludes NiCad  bat- 
teries. 

Mtg  by  National 
Sem  inconductor 

1 year  warranty  * 10 
day  money  back 
guarantee. 


100  pg.  Application  Handbook  - $5.00;  AC  charger  - $4.95; 
Carrying  case  - $2.95;  Stand  - $2.00;  Ship  & hndl.  $3.75. 


ILDAN  Inc. 


TO  ORDER  CALL 
TOLL  FREE 

(800)  421-4356 


6020  Washington  Blvd. 

Culver  City,  CA  90230  

in  Calif.  Call:  (213)559-1044 
We  also  have  T.I.  Calculators  at  Discount  Prices 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  27 

48  INTERFACE  AGE 


Symbols  have  always  been  of  great  importance  to 
man  and  some  of  the  most  important  symbols  in  use  to- 
day are  trademarks.  A trademark  is  a word,  symbol, 
device,  design  or  combination  thereof,  which  is  applied 
to  one’s  goods,  or  their  package,  to  indicate  their  source 
of  origin.  COCA-COLA,  the  GE  emblem,  MJB,  TOYOTA, 
DEL  MONTE,  the  Volkswagen  emblem,  RCA,  KRAFT 
and  PILLSBURY  are  but  a few  of  the  many  well-known 
trademarks  encountered  almost  every  day.  These  trade- 
marks, like  every  other  trademark,  tell  us  that  the  pro- 
ducts bearing  them  were  produced  by  the  same  concern 
that  produced  earlier  products  bearing  the  same  mark. 
Thus,  if  we  were  satisfied  with  the  earlier  products  we 
used,  we  know,  by  the  recognition  of  the  same  trade- 
mark on  subsequent  products,  that  we  can  expect  the 
same  or  similar  quality  in  the  later  products. 


It  is  a fundamental  principle  of  the 
law  that  it  does  not  protect  ideas, 
methods,  systems  or  principles,  but 
rather  the  particular  manner  in  which 
they  are  expressed.  For  this  reason, 
two  playrights  can  each  copyright 
their  respective  plays,  even  though 
the. . .plot  of  both  plays  is  the  same. 


In  this  way,  trademarks  become  salesmen  for  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  trademark  owner.  If  the  trademarked  pro- 
ducts win  wide  acceptance  with  the  consumer,  the 
trademark  becomes  an  extremely  valuable  business 
asset,  since  the  mark  represents  the  good  will  of  the 
business.  It  can  be  used  to  pass  onto  new  and  untried 
products,  the  acceptance  earned  by  the  earlier  pro- 
ducts. In  the  case  of  a sale  of  the  business  to  a new 
owner,  the  trademark  can  permit  the  new  owner  to  enjoy 
public  acceptance  won  by  his  predecessor  through  a 
continued  use  of  the  trademark.  For  this  reason  the  pur- 
chase price  of  a business  will  almost  always  include  the 
purchase  of  the  trademarks  and  their  good  will. 

Unlike  patents,  the  acquisition  of  legally  enforceable 
proprietary  rights  in  a trademark  are  a do-it-yourself  pro- 
position, A trademark  owner  secures  rights  in  a trade- 
mark by  using  it  in  commerce.  If  the  mark  is  used  in  inter- 
state commerce,  it  can  then  be  registered  with  the  U.S. 
Patent  and  Trademark  Office.  Registration  provides  the 
trademark  owner  with  important  advantages  and  should 
always  be  sought  if  a mark  is  used  in  interstate  com- 
merce, but  registration  is  not  a prerequisite  to  the  pro- 
tection of  the  trademark.  Even  in  the  absence  of  a federal 
registration  suite  can  be  brought  in  court  to  enjoin  an 
infringer.  The  test  for  infringement  is  whether  the  two 
marks,  when  applied  to  their  respective  goods,  would  be 
likely  to  cause  confusion  in  the  mind  of  purchasers. 
Not  every  work,  symbol  or  device  can  serve  as  a 
trademark.  Any  mark  that  is  merely  descriptive  of  the 
good  will  usually  be  understood  by  the  consumer  in  its 
descriptive  context  and  will  not  be  recognized  as  an  indi- 
cator of  origin.  Moreover,  every  competitor  should  have 
the  right  to  describe  his  goods.  If  exclusive  rights  were 
given  to  descriptive  words,  legitimate  description  of  the 
product  could  become  highly  circumscribed.  Trademarks 
are  registerable  for  a 20-year  term  that  can  be  renewed 
as  long  as  the  mark  continues  to  be  used. 

On  January  1, 1978  a completely  new  copyright  statute 
went  into  effect.  The  new  statute  is  the  first  complete 


APRIL  1978 


revision  of  the  law  of  copyright  since  1909,  Federal  pre- 
emption is  the  most  basic  change  effected  by  the  new 
act.  Under  the  former  law,  there  was  a dual  form  of  pro- 
tection: before  publication  the  author  held  a copyright 
that  was  enforceable  at  common  law;  after  publication 
his  copyright  was  protected  by  federal  statutory  law; 
Now  all  works  of  an  author  embodied  in  a tangible  form 
are  protected  by  federal  statute  whether  published  or 
not.  Only  new  works  not  reduced  to  tangible  form,  such 
as  live  choreography  or  a mime  routine,  would  be  pro- 
tected under  the  common  law. 

The  new  copyright  law  protects  all  “original  works  of 
authorship”  that  are  fixed  in  a tangible  form  sufficiently 
stable  to  permit  the  work  to  be  perceived,  reproduced  or 
otherwise  communicated  for  a period  of  more  than  transi- 
tory duration.  In  addition,  the  work  must  be  the  product 
of  the  author's  own  intellectual  effort,  as  distinguished 
from  merely  being  a copy  of  a pre-existing  work,  ft  is  a 
fundamental  principle  of  the  law  that  it  does  not  protect 
ideas,  methods,  systems  or  principles,  but  rather  the 
particular  manner  in  which  they  are  expressed.  For  this 
reason,  two  playrights  can  each  copyright  their  respec- 
tive plays,  even  though  the  basic  plot  of  both  plays  is 
the  same. 

There  are  seven  broad  categories  of  copyrightable 
works.  They  are:  literary  works;  musical  works;  dramatic 
works;  pantomimes  and  choreographic  works;  pictorial, 
graphic  and  sculptural  works;  motion  pictures  and  other 
audiovisual  works;  and  sound  recordings.  Although  com- 
puter programs  are  not  specifically  mentioned  in  the 
statutory  listing  of  copyrightable  matter,  the  definition  of 
“literary  works”  as  works  expressed  in  “words,  numbers, 
or  other  verbal  or  numerical  symbols  or  indicia"  would 
appear  broad  enough  to  include  computer  programs* 

Under  the  new  law,  copyright  is  now  an  automatic  con- 
sequence of  authorship.  Publication  of  the  work,  however, 
requires  registration  of  the  work  with  the  Copyright  Of- 
fice, which  is  part  of  the  Library  of  Congress.  The  term 
of  copyright  is  for  the  life  of  the  author  plus  50  years. 
Works  made  for  hire,  which  means  works  created  by  an 
employee  or  independent  contractor  on  assignment,  are 
considered  to  be  authored  by  the  employer,  whether  a 
corporation  or  natural  person.  The  term  for  such  works 
is  75  years  from  the  first  date  of  publication  or  100  years 
from  creation,  whichever  is  shorter.  □ 


250  nsec,  chips — s375 

Z-&0A  4 Mhz.  Fast — This  fully  assembled  and  tested 
1 6K  board  was  designed  to  operate  without  wait  states 
in  a 4 Mhz.  Z-80A  system  allowing  over-generous  time 
for  CPU  board  buffers.  It  “loafs  along"  in  slower  8080 
and  8085  systems. 

450  nsec . chips — 5 325 

For  2 Mhz,  Systems  — Same  circuit  as  above  but 
priced  lower  because  of  less  expensive  memory  chips. 
It  is  fully  assembled,  tested,  guaranteed  and  is  priced 
lower  than  most  kits. 

Fully  Static  is  Best  — Both  boards  use  the 
state-of-the-art  Texas  Instruments  TMS  4044  which 
requires  no  complicated  and  critical  docks  or  refresh. 
The  fully  static  memory  chip  allows  a straight-forward, 
"clean'1  design  for  the  board  with  a single  8 volt  power 
supply  using  1.6  amps  nominal. 

Fully  S-100  Bus  Compatible  — Each  4 K addressa- 
ble to  any  4K  slot  and  separately  protected  by  DIP 
switches.  Jumpers  to  customize  board  to  any  known 
S-100  system. 

Commercial  Quality  Components  — First  quality 
factory  parts,  fully  socketed,  buffered,  board  masked  on 
both  sides,  silk-screened,  gold  contacts,  bus  bars  for 
lower  noise. 

Guaranteed  — Parts  and  labor  guaranteed  for  one 
full  year.  You  may  return  undamaged  board  within  ten 
days  of  receipt  for  full  refund. 

See  at  your  local  computer  store 

Factory  Orders  - — You  may  phone  for  MC,  VISA. 
Cashier's  check,  M.O.  speed  shipment  for  mail  orders. 
Personal  check  OK.  Shipped  prepaid  with  crosscountry 
orders  sent  by  air.  Shipping  — stock  to  two  weeks 
nominal.  All  orders  confirmed  within  24  hours  indicating 
expected  shipping  date,  Washington  residents  add 
5.4%  tax.  Spec,  sheet,  schematic,  warranty  statement 
sent  upon  request. 


Seattle  Computer  Products.  Inc. 

16611  1 1 1th  S.E.,  Renton,  Washington  98055 
(206)  255-0750 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  49 


INTERFACE  AGE  49 


. . . FROM  THE 
FOUNTAINHEAD 


By  Adam  Osborne 


, * ' ■ 


0 « ■ 


m * 


The  responses  I have  received  fol- 
lowing my  warnings  against  paying  for 
goods  in  advance  lead  me  to  believe 
that  a very  serious  problem  exists 
within  the  microcomputer  industry. 

It  seems  to  be  the  rule  rather  than 
the  exception  that  companies  big  or 
small  will  hold  your  money  for  months 
at  a time,  and  In  a few  cases  they 
may  never  deliver  anything.  More- 
over, a number  of  microcomputer 
hardware  manufacturers,  including 
some  of  the  largest,  are  staying  out 
of  bankruptcy  only  by  exercising 
day-to-day  financial  agility. 

This  whole  industry  could  blow  up 
in  our  faces,  and  none  of  us  would 
want  that.  Let  us  therefore  look  at 
the  problem  and  its  solutions  from 
the  viewpoint  of  both  customer  and 
supplier. 

You,  the  customer,  have  brought 
problems  onto  your  head  by  order- 
ing sight-unseen  merchandise  and 
paying  with  your  order.  What  are  you 
buying?  Florida  swampland?  You 
must  stop  this  practice  immediately. 
There  are  exceptions.  8111  Godbout, 
Newman  Computer  Exchange,  Seals 
Electronics  and  SD  Sales  all  have 
good  reputations  for  either  quickly 
filling  orders  or  returning  cash. 
(Other  mail-order  houses:  send  me 
the  data  to  prove  it,  and  I will  add 
your  names  to  the  list  in  future  col- 
umns.) Also,  when  you  buy  low-cost 
items  you  must  frequently  pay  in  ad- 
vance, because  it  is  simply  too  ex- 
pensive for  the  seller  to  go  chasing  a 
bunch  of  unpaid  $5.00  invoices.  I be- 
lieve our  policy  at  Osborne  & Asso- 
ciates is  as  fair  as  any.  We  require 
cash-on-de!ivery  for  orders  of  less 
than  10  books,  because  we  have 
found  that  the  cost  of  dunning  for 
delinquent  payments  on  small  orders 
is  usually  equal  to  the  entire  profit 
for  all  small  orders.  When  anyone 
sends  pre-payment  for  a book  that  is 
not  either  in  stock  or  at  the  printer, 
we  send  back  the  pre-payment.  If 
anyone  asks  for  their  money  back  at 
any  point  before  the  books  have 
been  shipped,  we  immediately  can- 
cel the  order  and  return  the  money. 
But  why  order  directly  from  us,  by 
mail,  anyway?  Our  books  are  avail- 
able at  exactly  the  same  price  in  any 
computer  store,  where  you  will  ob- 
tain immediate  delivery. 

1 propose  the  following  set  of 
guidelines  for  all  pre-payments: 

1)  Never  pre-pay  or  buy  through  the 
mail  what  you  can  buy  at  your 
local  computer  store. 

2)  Never,  under  any  circumstances, 
pre-pay  more  than  $150.00.  The 
bookkeeping  costs  associated 
with  these  larger  dollar  amounts 
are  not  so  horrible. 

3)  Expect  to  have  your  pre-payment 
held  for  a maximum  of  45  days. 


However  small  the  pre-payment, 

you  should  demand  and  receive  a 

complete  refund  after  45  days. 
Let  us  now  look  at  some  of  the  argu- 
ments manufacturers  put  forward 
when  they  demand  pre-payment. 

Many  companies  say  they  will  not 
accept  your  order  without  pre-pay- 
ment. Fall  for  that  one,  and  you  have 
given  the  supplier  a long-term,  inter- 
est-free loan  with  no  guarantee  of 
repayment. 

Companies  argue  that  by  pre- 
paying, you  get  yourself  ahead  in  the 
line  for  early  delivery.  In  a few  cases 
that  may  be  true,  but  in  most  cases 
paying  in  advance  puts  you  at  the 
end  of  the  line.  When  the  supplier 
finally  has  a few  products  to  ship 
and  is  strapped  for  cash,  whom  do 
you  think  will  get  the  first  shipment? 
You,  who  have  already  paid  and  will 
do  their  cash  flow  no  good,  or  the 
next  customer,  who  did  not  pay,  but 
will  now  take  delivery  ahead  of  you 
and  provide  some  badly  needed  cash? 
It  is  a safe  bet  to  assume  that  by  pay- 
ing in  advance  you  get  yourself  at 
the  tail-end  of  the  delivery  schedule, 
behind  customers  who  will  pay  cash- 
on-delivery. 

Paying  cash  in  advance  is  sup- 
posed to  guarantee  that  you  are  get- 
ting the  most  recent  products.  It 
also  guarantees  that  you  will  be  the 
guinea  pig  who  finds  the  design  er- 
rors in  products  which  were  delivered 
early.  You  also  stand  a sporting 
chance  of  finishing  up  with  the  odd- 
ball version  that  has  poor  resale 
value.  Your  wisest  policy  should  be 
to  buy  nothing  unless  it  has  been  on 
the  market  for  six  months  to  a year 
and  is  readily  available  in  computer 
stores.  Then  you  will  buy  products 
that  exist  — and  work.  Being  the 
first  on  the  block  with  a new  piece  of 
computer  hardware  does  not  show 
how  resourceful  you  are;  rather,  it 
shows  how  stupid  you  are. 

Customers,  confine  all  of  your 
business  to  your  local  computer 
store.  Computer  stores  are  set  up  to 
take  risks  with  deliveries;  part  of  the 
hazard  of  running  a computer  store 
Is  in  dealing  with  manufacturers.  If 
all  end-users  would  buy  only  through 
computer  stores,  and  then  buy  only 
what  they  had  seen  on  display— and 
working — our  whole  industry  would 
be  in  much  better  shape. 

Turning  now  to  manufacturers,  if 
everyone  immediately  stops  paying 
cash  with  their  orders,  where  will 
that  leave  the  manufacturers?  Finan- 
cially, it  leaves  them  in  very  bad 
shape.  But,  that  may  in  the  end  be 
for  the  best,  since  the  present  habit 
of  cashing  customers’  checks  in 
order  to  build  the  product  (which  was 
supposed  to  be  ready)  is  a financial 
time  bomb.  Ultimately  the  bomb  is 
Branched  to  Page  57 
APRIL  1978 


ARTEC  CRAFTSMANSHIP  HAS  CREATED 


Please  send  me:  (include  quantity) 


Shielded 

Motherboard 


_ Full  WW11 
Card 


Half  WW11 
Card 


□ I ve  enclosed  a money  order  for  $ 

□ Mastercharge  □ Visa 


(number) 


(exp.  date) 


Name 
Address 
City 


_ State 


Cahf  Res,  add  safes  tax.  End  S3  handling.  tq%  discount  for  students  and 
computer  club  members  (Please  enclose  name  of  dub  of  school) 


The  First 
Truly  Silent 
Motherboard 


® Trademark  of  Digital  Cquipmanl  Corporation 

Order  today! 

Put  an  Artec  board  to  work  for  you.  Use  your 
Mastercharge  or  Visa.  Or  just  send  along  a 
money  order.  We  can  accept  only  U.S.  currency. 
Please  include  $3  handling  on  all  orders.  Califor- 
nia residents  add  6%  sales  tax. 


NEW!  DEC®  and  Heath  Compatible  LSI 
Boards 

The  new  Artec  WW11  lets  you  adapt  or  add 
onto  your  DEC  LSI-11  or  Heathkit  LSI  mini- 
computer, Can  accom- 
modate 14  and  16  pin 
DIPs  plus  all  necessary 
passive  components, 

FULL  CARD  $75 

(10.45"  x 8.4*} 

HALF  CARD  $35 

(5225*  x 8.4*1 


/irtgc  aecTRono,  inc. 

Artec  Electronics,  Inc,  *605  Old  County  Rd,*San  Carlos,  CA  94070 
(415)  592-2740 


Five  years  of  experience  in  every  card 

For  five  years,  Artec  has  worked  hard  to  de- 
velop a complete  line  of  custom,  prototype  and 
off-the-shelf  printed  circuit  boards,  And  in  five 
years  of  tough  industrial  use,  Artec  boards  have 
proven  themselves  among  the  most  reliable 
boards  available  anywhere. 


Noise  in  your  bus  lines  means  errors 
in  your  programs.  The  Artec  shielded 
Motherboard  totally  eliminates  noise. 

At  4MHz,  the  Artec  shielded 
Motherboard  is  free  from  spurious 
noise.  No  ringing  in  your  bus  lines. 

No  errors  in  your  programs. 

This  Motherboard  offers  you 
engineering  and  craftsmanship 
never  before  available  in  the  small 
computer  field.  Outstanding  as 
either  a replacement  for  your 
present  Motherboard  or  as  the 
heart  of  a new  system.  Con- 
sider these  features: 

■ Vsth  inch  thick— more  than  twice  as  thick 
as  most  Motherboards, 

■ Totally  shielded—all  holes  plated 
through;  full  bus  terminations. 

9 Fi  ts  e asi  ly  i nto  any  sta  n 
dard  chassis. 

■ Masterite  edge 
connectors— the 
finest  quality  con- 
nectors available, 

■ Reflowedsoldereircuitry. 

■ No  soldering  required. 

■ Designed  for  the  S- 100  bus. 

The  Motherboard  price  is:  $150(kit) 

$190  (ASSEMBLED) 


is. 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  3 


INTERFACE  AGE  51 


‘X-Y  PLOTTERS 

A 
A 

k 
k 
k 

k SYLVAN  HILLS  PLOTTERS  ARE  FOR  YOU 

i 


Completely  assembled  X-Y  mechanism  & interface  * 
You  add  drawing  surface,  24V  supply  A computer, 
Resolution  U ,01  inch.  Rugged  and  reliable, 

11x17  inch  size  ..$795 

0 FT-1  Plotter  Console , .... — $95 

17x22  inch  size ........ , ..... $95D 

0 FT -2  PI  otter  C omol  e. . .... ... . . S 1 1 5 

Owners  manual  (Refunded  with  purchase).,..,.,..,.,., 

8080  SOFTWARE  NOW  AVAILABLE  !H 

CamplEle  brochure  available  tree  Dn  requiKl 

^yluaul|tllfl  iCahnratory,  ittr. 

Box  646  • Pittsburg,  Kansas  66762  • 316-231  -4440 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  SO 


A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 

A 


ipAer/ControIli 


8700 Processor  6503  MPU.  Wear  free  "Active  Keyboard", 

Micro-Diagnostic®  Extensive  documentation.  Fully  Socketed, 

Pie  bug  Monitor:  Relative  address  calculator.  Pointer  High-low, 
User  Subroutines,  Back- step  key. 

Cassette  Interface:  Load  6 Dump  by  file  *.  Tape  motion 

control.  Positive  indication  of  operation. 

Appl  i cation  s systems  from  $90  (10  u nit  q ua ntity ) 

Development  systems  from  $149  (single  unit) 

TELL  ME  MORE  [ waj1(  i 0 jjCe  f0T  myself  lhai  Utf  riTflO  is  The  Answer, 

( | MolSo  Scud  documcntatiUh 
ifld  price  lists.  510  enclosed. 

( ) L don*  t need  documentation 
please  5 end  price  lists, 

( ] Pleasoscnd  Fit  EE  CATALOG. 


nddrcflS: 

CltV: 

slalD-  ElOr 

EUCTMNICS  ctfT-2-F  - 1UZ0  W,  Wi  I shire  Bl  vd.  « Oh^tiDm^  City.  OK  7311 B [4051  843-9626 


8700 


he  Answer  For... 
Student 
Hobbyist 
Manufacturer 


By  Hans  Drewitz  and  Roland  Hesse 

The  microcomputing  revolution  has  not  really  been 
felt  in  Europe.  However,  we  are  beginning  to  see  the 
first  indicators.  Microcomputing  articles  are  appearing 
in  local  newspapers  and  general  interest  magazines. 
The  tone  of  these  articles  is  very  simitar  to  the  type  seen 
in  the  United  States  in  the  summer  of  1976.  Apparently, 
the  public  is  becoming  more  and  more  interested  in  the 
microcomputer. 

This  general  public  interest  in  micros  has  caused  the 
European  retailing  industry  to  prepare  to  pursue  the  ris- 
ing market.  The  larger  department  stores  in  Europe  are 
planning  to  market  many  of  the  new  devices.  Computer 
stores  are  just  becoming  a part  of  the  retailing  scene. 

The  European  press  is  taking  an  active  part  in  this 
revolution.  Journalists  are  making  every  effort  to  under* 
stand  what  is  happening,  and  are  trying  to  determine 
why  people  buy  the  machines.  The  press  is  also  address* 
ing  the  application  end  of  the  market,  by  asking  what 
the  public  will  use  the  micro  for. 

The  only  element  missing  is  a personal  computing  fair 
similar  to  the  Atlantic  City  show  held  in  1976.  Exhibi- 
tions of  this  type  are  probably  not  far  off,  and  wMLdo 
much  to  influence  the  micro's  prominence  in  the  Euro- 
pean market  place. 

U.S.  manufacturers  are  starting  to  take  an  active  inter- 
est in  the  European  market  potential.  IMSAI,  which  be- 
gan its  European  sales  in  Frankfurt,  has  moved  to  Lux- 
emburg, and  created  the  IMSAJ  European  Corporation. 
The  IEC  is  providing  dealers  with  both  sales  and  tech- 
nical support. 

Pertec/MITS,  is  not  forgetting  Europe  either  They  are  in 
the  process  of  establishing  a number  of  dealerships  in  the 
major  countries  of  Europe.  The  MITS  people  do  have  the 
reputation,  in  Europe,  of  providing  excellent  software  and 
everyone  is  anxious  for  their  timesharing  system. 

APPLE  is  also  establishing  a dealer  network  in  Europe. 
The  APPLE  will  probably  enjoy  an  excellent  share  of  the 
European  market,  because  of  their  innovative  systems 
approach. 


52  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  40 


APRIL  7978 


THE  CHIPS  ARE  DOWN ! 


8K  NOW  JUST  $149  ASSEMBLED 


George  Morrow- Inventor  &Designe 
APRIL  1976 


1201  10th  Street  Berkeley,  CA  94710 

* ECONO  RAM  is  a trademark  of  Godbouf  Electronics 
CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  55  INTERFACE  AGE  53 


Thinker  Toys™  brings  down  the 
high  cost  of  adding  big  memory 
capacity  to  your  S-100  system ! 

The  ECONORAM  III*  flKxfl  (by 
Morrow's  Micro-Stuff)  comes  fully 
assembled,  burned  in,  tested  and 
fully  warranted  for  one  full  year — 
for/ust  $149! 

It's  configured  as  two  individually 
addressable  4K  blocks.  And  it  typically 
consumes  less  than  one-half  the 
power  of  any  competitively-priced 
memory. 

Obviously,  our  new  ECONORAM 
111*  8Kx8  isn't  just  another  cheap  kit 
It's  a design  breakthrough  in  dynamic 
memory  that  gives  you  guaranteed 
reliability  with  tremendous  savings 
in  cost  and  power. 

You  save  on  cost  and  power 
because  ECONORAM  111*  is  the  first 
fully  reliable  dynamic  memory.  It's 
unique  Synchro  Fresh™  refresh  cir- 
cuitry weaves  itself  into  the  natural 
timing  of  the  S-100  bus  to  provide 
simple.  Invisible  and  absolutely 
reliable  refresh  . . . with  fewer  parts, 
less  power,  lower  cost  and  no 
interference  with  computer  speed 
or  timing. 


You  just  plug  ECONORAM  III*  into  your  S-100  bus  and  run  perfectly 
for  at  least  one  full  year.  Or  your  money  fully  refunded.  It's  that  simple. 

So  don't  let  the  high  cost  of  memory  keep  your  system  down.  ECONO- 
RAM l!l*8Kx9  memory  is  available  now  at  leading  computer  shops.  Or  ask 
your  nearest  computer  shop  to  order  it  for  you. 

Or,  if  unavailable  locally,  write  direct  to  Thinker  Toys™  for  specs  and 
ordering,  BAC/MC  orders  can  be  placed  by  phone  to  415-527-7548 
(10-4  PST).  Add  $3 for  handling;  Cal.  res.  add  tax. 

Morrow’s  Micro-Stuff  for 

binker  Toys" 


NEW 

LOW 

*330 


16K  Static  RAM 

S-100  Systems 


PRICES 

Kit 


$365  Assembled 


• Very  Low  Power— 650MA+5V;  90MA+12V; 
16MA-5V 

• Applications  Notes— 6800  and  6502  Sys. 

• Low-profile  sockets  for  all  chips 

• Solder  mask;  silk  screen;  plated  through  holes 

• Each  4K  addressable  to  any  4K  boundary 

« Fully  buffered  S-100  bus— gold-plated  contacts 

• NEC  ^PQ  410  D memories 

CGD,  Master  Charge,  B of  A,  Visa  Accepted 
Orders  shipped  prepaid.  California  residents 
add  6%  sales  tax. 


V' 


ANDENBERG  DATA  PRODUCTS 


PO  BOX  2507 

SANTA  MARIA,  CALIFORNIA  93454  8D5-W  7951 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  57 


MR  I 

QUALITY  CONTROL  TEST 

mmm  test  m bmjo  imz  serial  port 
keyboard  test  m baud  current  loop 

OW  LINE  TEST  mD  RS232  SERIAL  PORT 


Need  Hard  Copy? 

TRY  OUR  SOFT  PRICES 

*425 

Complete  standalone  40  column  rmpacl  doi  matrix  printer  with  a 64 
character  ASCII  sel  Includes  power  supply  casework  and  interface 
electronics  for  conneclion  to  a mini  micro  processor  parallel  port 
Serial  interface  versions  for  RS232  current  loop  applications  start  a\ 
S5?5  in  single  quantity 


SEND  FOR  FREE  UTERATURE 


8 ox  22101 

Salt  Lake  CUy,  Utah  84122 
(B01)  364-2411 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  37 


Although  the  interest  in  personal  computers  is  rising, 
and  both  European  and  U.S* *  manufacturers  are  address* 
ing  the  market,  the  micro  in  Europe  is  geared  more  to 
the  professional  user. 

Small  businesses,  less  than  ten  employees,  are  start* 
ing  to  realize  the  possibilities  of  automating  using  the 
microcomputer.  New  businessmen  who  have  developed 
an  interest  In  the  machines,  and  the  expertise  in  BASIC 
and  other  languages,  are  more  aware  of  the  micro’s  pos- 
sibilities than  older  more  established  businessmen. 


The  company,  however, 
that  wants  to  do  business 
with  representatives  or 
dealers  in  Europe  has  to 
consider  certain  procedures. 


As  in  the  United  States,  the  small  business  user  in 
Europe  is  looking  for  total  integrated  systems.  Total 
software  and  hardware  support  is  expected,  and  was 
confirmed  at  the  System  77  exhibition  held  in  Munich. 

The  personal  use  of  the  microcomputer  is  significantly 
less  in  Europe  than  the  U.S.  This  is  primarily  due  to  the 
cost  of  the  systems,  after  tax,  freight  and  import  duties 
are  added.  Hopefully,  with  the  influx  of  American  manu- 
facturers into  the  European  market,  prices  will  lower. 

EXPORT/IMPORT  PROCEDURES 

Shipping  one  or  two  boards  to  Europe  is,  in  general, 
not  a big  problem.  The  company,  however,  that  wants  to 
do  business  with  representatives  or  dealers  in  Europe  has 
to  consider  certain  procedures.  Computer  equipment  re* 
quires  an  export  license  which  has  to  be  granted  by  the 
U.S.  Department  of  Commerce.  In  order  to  obtain  this  li- 
cense, the  following  supporting  documents  are  required: 
The  first  document  is  referred  to  as  the  Internatinal  Im* 
port  Certificate.  This  document  has  to  be  completed  by 
the  partner  in  Europe.  In  order  to  him  to  obtain  this  certifi- 
cate, the  U.S.  partner  has  to  provide  him  with  a proforma 
invoice.  The  proforma  invoice  should  use: 

* a general  description  like  “Digital  Microcomputer 
Equipment  and  Peripherals” 

* an  average  unit  price 

* a quantity  which  is  the  expected  business  for 
one  year. 

With  this  invoice  the  European  partner  should  now  be 
able  to  obtain  a completed  and  approved  International 
Import  Certificate  from  local  authorities. 

The  second  document  is  the  application  for  export  li- 
cense, which  has  to  be  completed  by  the  U.S.  partner. 
This  procedure  is  valid  for:  Austria,  Belgium,  Denmark, 
Federal  Republic  of  Germany,  France,  Greece,  Italy, 
Luxemburg,  Netherlands,  Norway,  Portugal,  Turkey  and 
the  United  Kingdom.  For  Switzerland  and  Yugoslavia  the 
procedure  is  similar.  The  only  difference,  however,  is 
that  instead  of  the  International  Import  Certificate,  the 
European  partners  have  to  obtain: 

* for  Switzerland  — aSwiss  Blue  Import  Certificate 

* for  Yugoslavia  — a Yugoslav  End*Use  Certificate 
For  countries  not  listed,  an  Internal  Import  Certificate  Is 
not  required.  Instead  there  is  a document  called  State- 
ment by  Ultimate  Consignee  and  Purchaser,  This  form 
has  to  be  completed  and  signed  by  the  partner  in  Europe 


54  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


->  siigniPTiDN  <- 

Lower  Case  X Numeric  Pad  X Protect  Node 

XTabbing  X Auto  Repeat  X15  Baud  Rates 

XDual  Intensity  XAux.  Port  XAddr.  Cursor 

X24  Line  x 80  Char,  ^Optional  Printer  Port  & Block  Mode 

—*  * 


. 


SOROC  IQ  120  is  the  most  wanted  OEM  terminal  on  the  market. 


For  iniormation  concerning  the  REWARD  contact1 


165  FREEDOM  AVE.,  ANAHEIM,  CA  3 2 SOI 
'TECHNOLOGY,  INC.  714’992-28SO  / 800-854-0147 


■ 


* 50-99  OTY,/5  - 49  $800  / 1-4  $995 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  52 


INTERFACE  AGE  55 


If  you’re  spending  hours  to  solve  a problem  similar 
to  the  one  above,  you’re  behind  the  times... 


It  only  takes  a few  seconds  with  "THE  MASTER’.’ 


Clear  your  desk  for  action  with  the  All  you  need  is  a problem  to  use  The 
newly  revised  1978  IC  Master.  It's  all-  Master. 

under-one-cover  features  include:  Over  Does  the  device  exist?  Who  makes  it? 
40,000  standard  products  from  more  Is  there  an  alternate  source?  What's  the 
than  87  different  companies  . . over  part  number?  Is  there  an  applications 

2,200  pages  comprising  five  different  note?  Who  is  my  closest  distributor— 
selection  guides  (memory,  micropro-  etc.,  etc  . . . _ 
cessor,  interface,  linear  and  digital)  . . . 
almost  1500  design  data  pages  . . . alter- 
nate source  directory  for  pin-for-pin, 
function-for-f unction  replacements  . . . 
applications  directory . . . complete  mili- 
tary section  ...  a complete  part  number- 
ing guide  . . . etc.,  etc.  . . . 

You  don't  have  to  search  through 
stacks  of  catalogs. 

Simply  look  up  the  specs  and  function 
you  need.  You  don't  need  a part  number 

fJ-jtoJtirJmjfoMatr 


$55.00 

Price  includes  handsome 
bound  reference  volume 
plus  an  updating  every 
90  days  with  the  Spring, 
Summer  and  Fall  issues 
of  IC  UPDATE  magazine 
that  works  hand  in  hand 
with  your  IC  Master . . . 
all  at  no  extra  charge! 


56  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  60 


ATTN:  Circulation  Manager  d| 

IC  MASTER  I 

United  Technical  Publications  I 

645  Stewart  Avenue  I 

Garden  City,  New  York  1 1530,  USA  I 

I 

Please  rush  me copies  of  the  new  1978  I 

IC  MASTER.  | 

□ Bill  me  I 

□ Payment  Enclosed  I 

□ Bill  my  company  I 

P.O.  # | 

Name . 

Company | 

Address | 

State Zip I 

Signature Date I 

For  California  orders  add  6%  sales  tax.  For  New  York  I 
orders  add  8%.  | 

Also  available  at  better  computer  stores  nationally. 

APRIL  1978 


and  the  partner  in  the  U.S.  The  U.S.  forms  can  be  obtained 
from  the  U.S.  Department  of  Commerce  in  Washington, 
or  the  District  Offices  of  the  US  Department  of  Com- 
merce. In  California  there  are  offices  in  Los  Angeles  and 
San  Francisco.  Other  states  have  at  least  one.  An  appli- 
cation for  an  export  license  takes  about  30  days.  Con- 
sidering all  time  involved,  it  takes  about  two  months 
before  shipping  can  start. 

EURO  COMPUTER  SHOP  PARIS 

Where  does  someone  go  who  is  looking  to  buy  a micro- 
computer system  in  Paris?  His  possibilities  are  COM- 
PUTER BOUTIQUE,  several  APPLE  distributors,  MBC— -a 
French  manufacturer  promoting  a system  called  ALCY- 
ANE,  or  Euro  Computer  Shop  Paris. 

ECS  Paris  was  started  in  late  1976  as  an  attempt  to 
provide  microcomputer  hardware,  and  U.S.-developed 
software,  to  the  small  community  of  amateurs  in  Paris 
and  in  France.  Driven  by  the  requirements  of  the  market, 
the  business  direction  of  ECS  Paris  changed  towards 
marketing  integrated  microcomputer  systems  to  small 
enterprises  and  schools.  ECS  Paris  acts  as  the  indepen- 
dent consultant  in  questions  of  data  processing  for 
their  clients.  ECS  Paris  offers  SYSTEM/ZERO,  claiming 
it  to  be  the  lowest-cost  general  purpose  microcomputer 
system  available  for  commercial  and  technical  appli- 
cations. SYSTEM/ZERO  is  based  on  an  IMSAI  main- 
frame, North  Star  floppy  disks,  and  completed  with  stan- 
dard business  software. 

The  shop  is  stressing  the  ease  of  computer  use,  and 
has  developed  their  own  system  software  for  that  pur- 
pose. ECS  Paris  also  functions  as  a mail  order  house  for 
all  microcomputerware,  closely  cooperating  with  a part- 
ner in  the  US.  The  shop  provides  after-sales  services  in  a 
partnership  with  REPTEC  Paris,  the  iCOM  and  PERTEC 
distributor  for  France. 

Since  December  1977,  the  business  has  been  run  by 
two  former  IBM  product  managers.  Euro  Computer  Shop 
Paris  is  a computer  shop  with  an  absolute  professional 
approach.  It  is  located  in  Paris-Boulogne,  16,  rue  Louis 
Pasteur  and  is  open  Monday  through  Friday  from  9 am 
to  6 pm  and  Saturday  by  appointment.  □ 


FROM  THE  FOUNTAINHEAD 

Vectored  from  Page  50 

going  to  explode;  the  only  question  is  when. 

Manufacturers  can  get  themselves  out  of  this  dilemma 
by  obtaining  adequate  capital  in  order  to  run  their  busi- 
nesses. Right  now,  there  is  plenty  of  capital  available.  I 
receive  more  telephone  calls  from  people  who  would 
like  to  invest  in  microcomputer  hardware  manufacturing 
companies  than  I receive  from  microcomputer  hardware 
manufacturers  seeking  investment  cash.  Manufacturers 
are  greedy.  They  want  the  whole  barrel  of  apples  for 
themselves.  My  question  is  this:  Are  you  better  off  own- 
ing a whole  barrel  of  rotten  apples,  or  would  you  prefer 
to  own  a portion  of  a barrel  of  good  apples?  If  you  are  a 
manufacturer  currently  raging  at  this  column  for  sug- 
gesting policies  that  will  drive  you  into  financial  ruin, 
then  stop  a minute  and  try  to  think  of  me  as  your  friend. 
The  money  is  out  there  to  turn  your  company  into  a 
viable  enterprise  which  you  will  control  (if  you  know 
how).  You  will  own  3 piece  of  it,  but  not  all  of  it.  Do  you 
need  financial  investments  in  your  company?  If  you  do, 
call  me  at  (415)  548-2805.  Do  you  have  cash  you  would 
like  to  invest  in  someone's  company?  If  so,  call  me  at 
the  same  number. 

Let  us  get  our  industry  into  reasonable  shape.  Most 
manufacturers  are  not  crooks,  they  just  do  not  have 
enough  money  to  run  an  honest  operation.D 


2708 

TMS2716 

EPROM/RAM 


MICRODESIGN 


microcomputer  products 


VERSATILITY  • IndrvtOuai  Addressing  • Shadow  alternates  ROM  with  RAM  • External 
RAM  disable  • Optional  IK  on  board  RAM  • SiOO  compatible  • Power-on  lump  or 
bootstrap  capability  • All  sockeis  included 


MR  8 KIT  For  2708  99.50 

MR  16  T KIT  FOR  TMS  2716  99.50 


i PROM  (shown)  not  included 


FIRMWARE  • 2K  Monitor /UMIHy  • Supports  Tarbeli  cassette,  paper  tape  • Now 
avoilable  for  SI0  MlO.  3P  S.  SlO  2 


MM  2K  (two  2708  type  EPROMS)  79.50 

MM  2 T (one  TMS  2716  EPROM)  74.50 


EPROMS  • Prime,  full  specification  • programming  available 


2708  type  .1024x8  30,00 

TMS  2716  2048  x 8 55.00 


MICRODESIGN 

679-1  S.  Stale  College  Blvd.,  Fullerton  CA  92631 
(714)  738-8080 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  32 


PRAMMER 


by  XYBEK 

An  extraordinary  2k  memory  board 
for  your  Altair-bussed  computer 

★ On-board  1702A  PROM  programmer 

★ 256  bytes  of  RAM  plus  space  for  1792  bytes  of  read 

only  memory  (seven  1 702A  EPROMs) 

★ Supplied  with  one  1702A,  pre-programmed  with 

stand-alone  programming  software  — no  sense 
switches  are  used 

★ Supplied  with  programming  power  supply 

★ PRAMMER's  own  on-board  clock  makes  it  compatible 

with  almost  Bny  Altair-bussed  system. 

★ All  read  and  write  sequences  are  generated  via  an 

on-board  micro-programmed  state  machine,  thus 
eliminating  all  one-shots. 

★ Complete  1 702A  programming  in  18  seconds 

★ Includes  complete  listings  for  PRAMSYS,  an  eleven* 

function  development  system. 

ASSEMBLED  & TESTED: S259 

Kit  (limited  availability): $219 

Immediate  (off-the-shelf)  delivery 
California  residents  please  add  sales  tax. 

COO,  Master  Charge,  Bank Americard  and  Visa  accepted. 

XYBEK  • P.O.Box  4925  • Stanford,  CA  94305 
Telephone:  (408)  296-8188 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  65 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  57 


&EN&E  mm 

By  Dick  Mo  berg 

President,  Philadelphia  Area  Computer  Society 


The  Philadelphia 
Area  Computer  So- 
ciety, (PACS),  is  not 
the  oldest  comput- 
er club,  it's  not  the 
largest  club,  and  it's 
probably  not  that 
well  known  outside 
the  Northeast  (yet!). 
But  we  are  a fast- 
growing, fun-loving 
group  of  computer 
hobbyists,  right  in 
the  middle  of  an 
area  buzzing  with 
computer  activity.  Philadelphia,  after  all,  is  where  it  all 
began.  The  world's  first  all-electronic  digital  computer, 
the  ENIAC,  sits  quietly  now  at  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, just  down  the  hall  from  where  our  club  mailing 
labels  are  processed  on  their  new  and  busy  Univac  70/90. 

PACS,  a little  less  than  two  years  old,  has  over  250 
members,  meets  monthly,  publishes  a monthly  newslet- 
ter, and  has  regular  subgroup  meetings  and  tutorial  ses- 
sions. As  a group  we  are  actively  engaged  in  setting  up  a 
microcomputer  network  system;  we  sponsor  a Computer 
Game  Festival,  and  co-sponsor  the  fabulous  Trenton 
Computer  Festival.  We  are  well  established,  have  a good 
meeting  format  and  location,  and,  most  importantly,  we 
are  growing  fast!  How  did  we  get  where  we  are?  It  took  a 
lot  of  work  and  probably  an  equal  amount  of  mistakes. 
So  that  others  might  learn  from  our  experience  (the  pur- 
pose of  Sense  Line),  we  will  look  into  some  of  the 
details  of  what  makes  PACS  run,  and  why. 

A CLUB  IS  BORN 

Early  in  1974,  I met  up  with  a man  named  Karl  Amat- 
neek,  while  we  were  both  working  at  Hahnemann  Hospital; 
he  as  a logic  designer  and  bioengineer,  and  myself  as  a 
programmer,  animal  surgeon,  and  grad  student,  Karl  was 
amazed  by  these  new-fangled  microprocessors  and  took  it 
upon  himself  to  teach  other  engineers  about  these  "good- 
ies" (he  hasn't  stopped  teaching  since  them).  At  any  rate 
within  an  hour  of  first  meeting  each  other,  I was  thor- 
oughly bitten  by  the  microcomputer  bug  (and  was  talked 
into  helping  arrange  a one-day  tutorial  on  the  Intel  4004). 

The  tutorial  was  so  successful  they  had  to  turn  people 
away  because  there  were  only  200  seats  in  the  auditorium. 
So  the  excitement  was  starting  to  build  way  back  then. 

In  the  months  that  followed,  I was  "turned  on"  to  the 
hobbyist  literature  (what  little  there  was),  by  a friend,  Dr, 
George  Haller,  a retired  General  Electric  Vice-President 
and  early  microprocessor  user.  After  visiting  him  once,  I 
ended  up  subscribing  to  all  the  microcomputer  magazines: 
Micro-8,  People’s  Computer  Company,  and  ECS,  a monthly 
how-to-build-it  put  out  by  then  little-known  Carl  Helmers. 

Later  that  year  (1975),  when  ECS  turned  into  Byte 
Magazine,  I thought  it  would  be  nice  to  get  together  with 
other  computer  hobbyists  around  the  city;  especially 
since  1 knew  my  half-finished  8080  system  would  never 
be  completed  without  some  divine  intervention.  So  I 
sent  a letter  to  Byte  asking  interested  people  to  contact 
me.  Shortly  thereafter,  I also  made  an  announcement  at 
Karl's  latest  tutorial.  Needless  to  say,  I was  inundated 
with  phone  calls  after  the  Byte  letter  appeared. 


During  alt  the  commotion  I heard  that  Philadelphia  al- 
ready had  two  computer  stores.  One  of  them,  Personal 
Computer  Corporation,  offered  us  a meeting  place.  I 
then  sent  out  200  notices  to  people  whose  names  I had 
collected  and  on  June  6,  1976,  75  people  gathered  to 
"talk  computers.”  Thus  PACS  was  born. 

THE  EARLY  DAYS 

Our  first  priority  was  to  start  a newsletter,  which  we 
did  promptly,  and  had  it  in  the  mail  before  the  next  meet- 
ing. The  Data  Bus,  as  we  called  it,  now  has  grown  to  16 
pages  and  contains  meeting  information,  feature  articles, 
tutorials,  classified  ads,  and  other  items  useful  to  the 
computer  amateur.  Classified  ads  are  free  to  members 
and  our  paid  ads  just  about  cover  the  printing  costs.  We 
decided  on  dues  of  $10.00  ($5.00  for  students). 

Our  early  meetings  regularly  drew  60  to  80  people,  and 
were  usually  product  or  homebrew  demonstrations.  It 
was  hard  to  find  out  what  the  members  wanted  out  of  a 
meeting,  probably  because  they  didn’t  know  themselves. 
It  seemed  as  long  as  we  provided  lots  of  time  for  infor- 
mal gatherings,  they  were  satisfied.  It  wasn’t  until  about 
a year  later  that  we  hit  upon  a workable  meeting  format. 
As  far  as  a meeting  location,  we  quickly  came  into  con- 
tact with  Dr.  Steve  Longo  of  the  LaSalle  College  Physics 
Department.  He  wanted  to  learn  about  microprocessors 
as  much  as  we  wanted  to  use  his  auditorium,  surround- 
ing lab,  and  classroom  space.  We  met  there  at  our  third 
meeting,  and  it’s  been  a happy  marriage  ever  since  then. 

PACS  TODAY 

Every  club  has  its  own  personality,  and  if  I were  to  de- 
scribe PACS  in  one  word,  it  would  be  “education,"  Our 
education  chairman,  Jon  Bondy,  from  General  Electric’s 
Valley  Forge  Space  Center,  has  put  together  a course 
list  that  looks  like  a university  catalog.  Furthermore,  we 
have  been  blessed  with  some  very  dedicated  and  talented 
instructors.  Courses  are  free  to  members  and  the  con- 
tent and  reading  assignments  are  printed  in  the  news- 
letter prior  to  the  meeting.  A sampling  of  our  course 
roster  is  as  follows:  Digital  logic  design,  A/D  conversion 
techniques,  6502  basics,  S-100  bus  fundamentals,  struc- 
tured programming,  PASCAL,  Selectric  typewriter  inter- 
facing, and  many  more.  Most  of  them  continue  for  three 
to  five  months  and  then  are  "recycled." 

PACS  meetings  are  on  the  third  Saturday  of  each  month. 
Though  the  main  presentation  doesn't  start  until  2:00 
p.m.,  the  doors  open  at  11:30  a.m.  for  subgroup  meetings 
and  two  sets  of  courses.  We  have  found  it  wise  to  keep 
the  main  meeting  topic  of  general  interest,  such  as  our 
recent  demonstration  of  the  Apple  II  computer.  Anything 
of  a highly  technical  nature  we  do  as  a course  or  work- 
shop. After  the  meeting,  we  have  a "mapping  session" 
where  people  in  the  audience  can  stand  up  and  say  any- 
thing (I  need  this,  I want  to  sell  that,  I heard  a rumor  that 
. . .)  for  30  seconds  or  so.  Then,  when  the  forma!  meeting 
is  over,  people  can  make  the  necessary  contacts  for  the 
remaining  “gab  session."  Flea  market  items  are  brought 
in  for  sale  during  the  gab  session. 

THE  SNOWSTORM 

Our  only  meeting  cancellation  came  when  the  “Great 
Northeast  Snowstorm"  hit  the  night  before  the  January 
meeting,  dumping  more  snow  on  Philadelphia  than  it  had 
seen  in  several  decades.  Even  so,  I was  hesitant  to  can- 
cel the  meeting  until  I learned  that  the  computer  to  be 
demonstrated  was  stuck  in  the  snow  somewhere  be- 
tween New  York  and  Philadelphia.  The  next  problem 
was  how  to  cancel  the  meeting.  We  had  worked  out  a 
phone  system  a year  ago  where,  between  the  officers, 
all  the  members  could  be  called.  But  a year  ago  member- 
ship was  50,  not  250.  The  best  I could  do  was  to  call  radio 
stations  and  sit  by  the  phone  for  several  hours  prior  to 
the  meeting.  That  evening,  though,  I had  calls  from 


58  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


several  members  expressing  their  disappointment  at 
the  cancellation.  Several  had  shoveled  out  their  card 
just  for  the  meeting,  and  others  were  coming  via  cross 
country  skis.  It  was  heart-warming  to  say  the  least. 

PACS  HOTLINE  IS  BORN 

Needless  to  say,  the  club  needed  a better  means  of 
quick  communications.  So,  within  a week  I had  another 
phone  installed,  a phone  answering  machine  was  donated 
by  a club  member,  and  the  PACS  Hotline  began!  We  now 
have  a recording  with  meeting  information,  the  PACS  ad- 
dress, and  a few  minutes  at  the  end  for  computer 
bargains  from  some  of  Philadelphia's  great  surplus 
stores.  These  ads  at  the  end  of  our  message  more  than 
pay  for  our  phone  bill.  Our  Hotline  number  is  (215) 
925-5264  for  anyone  wishing  to  call. 


. . .PACS  is  not  the  oldest  computer 
club,  it’s  not  the  largest  club, 
and  it’s  probably  not  that  well-known 
outside  the  Northeast  . . . But 
we  are  a fast-growing,  fun-loving 
group  of  computer  hobbyists  . . . 
we  are  actively  engaged  in  setting  up 
a microcomputer  network  system. . . 


THE  MANY  PERSONALITIES  OF  PACS 

Although  PACS,  for  the  most  part,  is  made  up  of  engi- 
neers, programmers,  and  students,  we  have  members 
who  are  accountants,  travel  agents,  printers,  attorneys, 
and  many  others,  each  with  an  interest  in  computers  for 
fun  or  for  use  in  their  business.  Also,  PACS  has  more 
than  its  share  of  microcomputer  stars.  One  of  the  most 
outstanding  is  Will  Mathys  of  MOS  Technology,  who  is 
almost  single-handedly  responsible  for  the  design  of 
the  6502  microprocessor.  Having  Will  and  MOS  Tech- 
nology so  close  has  led  to  our  group  being  saturated 
with  6502  users  and  applications. 

Two  groups  of  members  have  actually  designed  6502- 
based  products  which  are  now  nationally  advertised.  Bill 
Goble,  the  S-100  wizard  (see  INTERFACE  AGE,  June 
1977),  together  with  Joe  Swope,  Bill  Redka,  and  Ed 
Chien,  started  CGRS  Microtech  and  have  developed  the 
only  6502  CPU  card  which  is  directly  S-100  compatible. 
They  now  have  a complete  system  with  CPU,  mother- 
board, DMA  front  panel,  and  I/O  card  featuring  the  6530 
TIM  teletype  monitor. 

Another  group,  Carmen  DiCamillo  and  Roland  James, 
designed  a 6502  tutorial  board  called  the  DATAC  1000, 
which  has  been  used  to  teach  microcomputer  concepts 
to  several  hundred  engineers  in  this  area  through  local 
IEEE  tutorials.  The  board  is  a single-board  computer 
system  with  CPU,  memory,  and  a cassette  tape  or  TTY 
I/O.  It  can  be  programmed  in  machine  language  using 
their  unique  “touch  pad”  binary  switches. 

Both  DATAC  and  CGRS  have  been  more  than  helpful 
to  the  club.  Carmen  and  Roland  are  in  the  middle  of  con- 
ducting a 6502  tutorial  based  on  their  board  and  CGRS 
recently  held  an  S-100  workshop  where  members  brought 
in  their  defective  S-100  boards  and  Bill  and  Joe  showed 
them  how  to  repair  them. 


For 

Further 

Information 

on  the 

Quasar  Industries 

Robot 

Featured 

in  this 
Publication 

and  how  you  can 
obtain  it  for  your 
Trade  Show  and 
Promotional 
Needs 


Contact: 


ANDROID  AMUSEMENT  CORPORATION 

• (Exclusive  Western  Representativeslor  Quasar  Industries) 

(213)  445-5330  or  (213)  266-1994 

2324  Lenta  Lane,  Arcadia,  California  91Q06 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  4 

2708/2716  EPROM 
MEMORY  BOARD 

* S-100  BUS 

* 1-32  KBYTES  USING  EITHER  2708  OR  2716  EPROMS 

* HIGH/LOW  LIMIT  ADDRESS  RANGE  SELECTION 

* MEMORY  BANK  SELECT  OPTION 

* SOL^COMPATIBLE  MEMORY  DISABLE 

* SELECTABLE  WAIT  STATES 

* FULLY  BUFFERED  INPUTS  AND  OUTPUTS 

* DOUBLE  SOLDER  MASK 

* SILK  SCREENED  PARTS  LAYOUT 

* COMPLETE  DOCUMENTATION 

$30.  BARE 

$100.  KIT  (LESS  EPROMS) 

TESTED  AND  ASSEMBLED  $130. 
(LESS  EPROMS) 

DEALER  INQUIRIES  INVITED  UNIVERSITY  DISCOUNTS  AVAILABLE 

W777C inc.  WAMECO  INC.  3107  LANEVIEW  DRIVE  SAN  JOSE  CA  95132 

TM 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  62 


INTERFACE  AGE  59 


Let’s  Get  Personal 
in  Anaheim 


June  6-8, 1978 


A rewarding  personal  experience  is  in  store  for  you 
June  6-8  at  the  NCC  78  Personal  Computing  Festival , . . 
the  most  comprehensive  personal  computing  event  ever 
held.  The  Festival  a separate  feature  of  the  National 
Computer  Conference,  will  include  approximately  30 
program  sessions,  commercial  exhibits  of  consumer 
computing  products  and  services,  plus  a contest  and 
exhibit  of  microprocessor  systems  and  applications.  All 
Festival  activities  will  take  place  in  the  Disneyland  Hotel 
Complex,  just  a few  minutes  from  the  Anaheim  Con- 
vention Center,  site  of  this  year's  NCC, 

Plan  now  to  attend  the  big,  new  NCC  78  Personal 
Computing  Festival.  The  program  will  include  special 
paper,  panel,  and  tutorial  sessions  on  such  topics  as 
speech  synthesis  and  recognition,  computerized  music 
systems,  hardware  and  software  design,  computer 
graphics,  and  small  business  systems.  All  papers  will  be 
published  in  a softbound  volume,  Festival  Digest  78, 
which  will  be  available  during  NCC. 

Festival  exhibits  will  provide  an  extensive  display  of 
commercial  offerings  by  organizations  serving  the  per- 
sonal computing  field.  More  than  100  companies,  occu- 
pying over  175  booths,  will  display  aysterais,  compo- 
nents, terminals,  software,  kits,  disc  and  tape  cassettes, 
relevant  publications,  and  related  hobby  items. 

Rounding  out  the  Festival  will  be  a contest  featuring 
microprocessor  systems,  devipes,  apd  applications 
ranging  from  home-brew  DOS  and  graphics  terminals 
to  educational  applications  and  computer  games.  Prizes 
will  be  awarded  for  the 
best  exhibits. 


Don't  miss  the  year's  most  exciting  personal  comput- 
ing event.  For  more  information,  return  the  coupon  or 
call  AFIPS  at  201/391-9810. 

n Please  keep  me  up-to-date  on  Festival  plans  and 
activities. 

□ My  company  is  interested  in  exhibiting  at  the  Festival 
D Please  send  me  information  on  the  special  NCC 
| Travel  Service. 


Name 


Comoanv 

Division 

Street 

1 City 

State 

Zip 

NCC  78 

r Personal  Computing 
' Festival 


c/o  AFIPS,  210  Summit  Avenue 
Montvaie,  N J.  07645 
telephone:  201/391-9810 


60  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  2 


APRIL  1978 


Some  other  personalities  in  the  area  are  the  Mauchleys 
and  the  Eckerts,  designers  of  the  ENIAC.  Ted  Nelson 
(author  of  Computer  Lib}  hibernates  at  nearby  Swarthmore 
College,  as  does  Dr,  Kenneth  Iverson  (inventor  of  APL). 
Also  a member  is  Rick  Simpson  (the  PET  and  KIM-1  king). 
And  last,  but  not  least,  are  those  farout  space  cadets 
from  2005  AD  (see  INTERFACE  AGE,  February  1978), 
whose  “walletsize'’  space  flight  simulator  was  the  hit  of 
the  Personal  Computing  77  in  Atlantic  City  last  year! 

FRIENDS  OF  PACS 

We  have  been  very  fortunate  to  have  Sol  Libes  of  the 
Amateur  Computer  Group  of  New  Jersey  (see  Sense 
Line,  January  1978),  so  close  to  us,  Sol  has  been  an  in- 
spiration to  many  club  leaders  and  has  helped  our  group 
considerably  by  letting  us  co-sponsor  (and  share  in  the 
profits  of)  the  Trenton  Computer  Festival. 

To  the  east  of  us  is  John  Dilkes,  promoter  of  Personal 
Computing  78.  IPs  reassuring  to  know  that  although 
John  is  now  promoting  one  of  the  largest  computer 
shows,  he  is  still  one  of  us,  an  amateur  computer  hob- 
byist, At  the  show  In  Atlantic  City  last  year,  John  gave 
PACS  a booth  and  a hospitality  suite,  which  was  shared 
by  several  area  clubs.  We  about  doubled  our  membership 
at  the  show,  and  our  tired  members  made  good  use  of  the 
hospitality  suite.  PACS  plans  to  sponsor  an  event  at  Per- 
sonal Computing  78,  this  year  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia. 

In  closing,  I think  a few  words  about  the  future  of 
PACS  are  in  order.  First,  we  are  at  a size  where  we  need 
to  incorporate  and  apply  for  our  non-profit  educational 
status.  Some  clubs  (ourselves  included)  have  had  trouble 
obtaining  non-profit  status  and,  perhaps  this  problem 
could  be  solved  by  a "how-to1’  article  for  one  of  the  com- 
puter magazines  or  by  the  "association  of  clubs1'  that  is 
being  formed.  PACS  is  sponsoring  a Computer  Game 
Festival,  which  is  our  first  attempt  as  a group  to  show 
the  area  what  microcomputers  can  do.  Hopefully,  it  will 
evolve  into  an  annual  applications  show  for  the  immedi- 
ate area.  We  hope  to  get  our  club  network  going  soon,  to 
facilitate  communications  and  software  exchange.  But 
whatever  we  are  doing  in  the  future,  lrm  sure  of  one 
thing,  we'll  be  having  fun. 

If  any  groups  would  like  to  exchange  newsletters,  or 
keep  in  touch  with  PACS,  write  to:  PACS,  P.O,  Box  1954, 
Philadelphia,  PA  19105.Q 


CALL  FOR  ARTICLES 

Articles  authored  by  individuals  during  leisure  time 
are  remunerated  at  a rate  from  $15.00  to  $50.00  per 
published  page  and  articles  describing  company  pro- 
jects carry  author  and  company  byline,  but  no  honor- 
arium is  offered.  Articles  accepted  will  be  acknowl- 
edged with  a binder  check  within  30  days  of  receipt. 

Manuscripts  should  be  double-spaced,  typewritten 
pages,  one  inch  margins,  and  not  less  than  3Vfc  pages 
in  length  (one  published  page}.  Pages  should  be  num- 
bered to  insure  correct  text.  Photographs  should  be 
numbered  and  labeled  on  the  backside  with  a 
description.  Photos  should  be  taken  with  uniform 
lighting  and  background,  in  the  form  of  glossy  black 
and  white  prints.  Tables,  listings,  etc.,  shall  be  on 
separate  sheets.  Computer  listings  shall  be  printed 
using  a new  ribbon  to  assure  darkest  print  copy. 
Authors  shall  supply  a statement  of  their  back- 
ground, expertise  and  level  of  accomplishment. 

The  publisher  assumes  no  responsibility  for  art* 
work,  photos,  models,  or  manuscripts.  Manuscripts 
are  not  acknowledged  or  returned  unless  accom- 
panied by  an  addressed,  stamped,  return  envelope. 

For  article  submittal  or  further  information,  con- 
tact respective  editor,  INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine, 
16704  Marquardt  Avenue,  Cerritos,  CA  90701  or  call 
(213)  926-9544. 


8K  CORE  MEMORY 

FOR  THE  S-100  BUS 

Compatible  With  ALTAI  R/IMSAI  /SO L/Z80 


NO  DATA  LOSS  WITH  POWER  OFF 


* NON  VOLATILE  - NO  LOSS  OF  DATA  DURING  POWER  QN/0FF 
OR  POWER  FAILURE  - NO  BATTERY  BACKUP  REQUIRED 

* ACCESS  TIME  350m 

* CYCLE  TIME  1. Ous 

* ON  BOARD  REGULATORS  WITH  LARGE  HEAT 
SINKS  TO  INSURE  RELIABILITY 

* WRITE  PROTECT  IN  IK  MEMORY  BLOCKS 

* AUTOMATIC  POWER  ON/OFF  RESET 

* ADDRESSABLE  IN  8K  MEMORY  BLOCKS  UP  TO 
E4K  BY  SELECTING  PROPER  SWITCH  SETTINGS 

* TECHNICAL  MANUAL,  INCLUDING,  SCHEMATICS, 

CIRCUIT  DESCRIPTION  AND  OPERATION 

9438  Irondale  Awe, 

l"ljl Bmory  ChatswOfth,  California  91311 
I nc  Telephone:  (213)  998*0070 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  35 


systoma,  me. 


ii  * 


r m 


• u » i a it  ft 

f i I i i i i 


Boards  DO  Something 

CL2400 

Real  Time  Clock 

S&B — -Kit  Si  35 — Assembled 


If  your  system  needs  to  know  what  time  it  is,  our  CL2400  is 
the  board  for  you.  The  present  time  in  hours,  minutes,  and 
seconds  is  always  available  for  Input,  and  is  continuously 
updated  by  the  highly  accurate  60  Hz  power  line  frequency. 
Need  periodic  interrupts?  The  CL2400  can  do  that,  too,  at  any 
of  6 rates.  Reference  manual  with  BASIC  and  assembly 
language  software  examples  included. 


— - PC3200 

/ _ is#  i IT*-**  Power  Control  System 

•ft 

* PC3232  S299— Kit  S3B0— Assm 

C ) \ — J ' PC3216  StB9— Kit  S 240— Assm 

^ i PC3202  S39.50— Kit  $52— Assm 

If  your  system  needs  on  / off  control  of  lights,  motors, 
appliances,  etc.,  our  PC3200  System  components  are  for 
you.  Control  boards  allow  one  1/0  port  to  control  32  (PC3232) 
or  16  (PC3216)  external  Power  Control  Units,  such  as  the 
PC3202  which  controls  120  VAC  loads  to  400  Watts.  Optically 
isolated,  low  voltage,  current-limited  control  lines  are 
standard  in  this  growing  product  line, 

P.0.  Box  516 

systems,  inc.  Ls  Canada,  CA  91011 

(formerly  comptek)  (213)  790-7957 


APRIL  19TB 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  5 


INTERFACE  AGE  61 


Features  in 
This  Section 


I Where  Robot  mice 
and  Robot  (Tien  Run  Round 
in  Robot  Towns 

by  Ray  Bradbury 


The  History  of 

Robots 

by  Forest  J.  Ackerman 


The  Quasar 
Industries*  Robots 

by  Gene  Beley 


m From  Steam  Engines 
to  Robots 

by  F.  W.  Chesson 


m STAR  WARS  - 
Special  Effects 

by  John  Stears 


m A Natural  Approach 
to  Artificial  Intelligence 
by  Roger  C.  Garrett 


ROBOTICS 

EDITORIAL 

By  Sandi  McKeen,  Assistant  Editor 


In  April  of  1977,  INTERFACE  AGE  took  an  introductory 
glimpse  at  the  fascinating  subject  of  Robotics  — from 
the  whimsical  concept  of  robots  as  pets,  to  the  practical 
assumption  of  household  chores  such  as  vacuuming 
and  carrying  parcels. 

Now  it's  time  to  again  look  at  the  state-of-the-art,  or 
rather  science. 

We  are  a long  way  from  the  scene  envisioned  by  Ray 
Bradbury  in  his  delightful  poem  "Where  Robot  Mice  and 
Robot  Men  Run  Round  In  Robot  Towns/'  or  the  thinking, 
feeling  robots  R2D2  and  G3PO  of  Star  Wars,  with  their 
humanistic  foibles. 

But  robots  and  robotic  devices  are  already  making  val- 
uable contributions. 

In  this  issue  we  will  consider  some  of  these  applica- 
tions, as  well  as  the  present  level  of  technological 
development,  and  what  to  expect  in  the  future. 

Robots  have  been  with  us  for  some  time  — whetehr 
as  primitive  mechanical  toys  or  existing  purely  in  the 
imaginations  of  futuristic  writers. 

But  with  the  advent  of  the  minicomputer,  the  tech- 
nological means  are  now  at  hand. 

At  this  point,  let's  define  just  what  is  meant  by  the 
term  robot.  Generally,  a robot  is  conceptualized  as  hav- 
ing an  anthropomorphic  form,  mobile,  computer 
directed  to  perform  various  tasks,  and  possesses  the 
ability  to  react  to  its  environment. 

Some,  such  as  Quasar  Industries1  Klatu,  or  Robbie 
and  Gronk  built  by  Keith  Paul  and  John  Hughes,  are 
already  operational.  Others,  such  as  a paramedic  robot 
for  hospitals,  or  a security-guard  robot,  will  be  available 
in  several  years. 

Although  less  spectacular,  robots  or,  more  correctly, 
robotic  devices  can  be  utilized  in  manufacturing  to  per- 
form a variety  of  jobs  considered  as  undesirable,  either 
because  of  their  boring,  repetitious  nature,  or  because 
they  present  a hazard  to  a human  worker.  Such  routine 
jobs  as  spot-welding,  drilling  and  assembly  can  be 
assigned  to  robotic  devices. 

Just  what's  to  come?  One  chief  requisite  for  progress 
is  the  ability  of  the  robot  to  learn  from  experience  — 
rather  than  to  react  in  a repetitious  triaband-error  pat- 
tern. Another,  providing  robots  with  vision  by  utilizing 
black  and  white  television  cameras,  coordinating  ,shand 
and  eye  movement/'  And  finally,  the  ability  to  respond 
to,  and  reply  in,  a verbal  mode. 

As  you  can  see,  we  are  a long  way  from  developing  a 
robot  with  the  characteristics  of  an  R2D2,  but  we're  get- 
ting therein 


62  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


zzn? 


Copyright  1977  by  RayJBradbury 


INTERFACE  AGE  63 


APRIL  1978 


■ ‘ i • o • • f #r'Jb  V • . V'!  ' fi  '» 

^ — - — ^ 

" ‘ ^ 

/#  — — — 

if  i/ 

..-*1  iv-  .— — ~ — . _. 

>di;f 

■h 


Where  Robot  Mice 
And  Robot  Men 
Run  Round  In  Robotlowns 

By  Ray  Bradbury 

They  asked  me  where  I’d  choose  to  run,  which  favored?  Ups? 
or  Downs? 

Where  robot  mice  and  men,  I said,  run  round  in  robot  towns. 
But  is  that  wise?  for  tin's  a fool  and  iron  has  no  thought l 
Computer  mice  can  find  me  facts  and  teach  me  what  I'm  not. 
But  robot  all  inhuman  is,  all's  sin  with  cog  and  mesh. 

Not  if  we  teach  the  good  stuff  in,  so  it  can  teach  our  flesh. 
There's  nothing  wrong  with  metal-men  that  better  dreams 
can't  chalk. 

I'd  find  me  robot-Plato's  cave  if  he  lived  on  my  block; 

And  though  his  eyes  electric  were,  computerized  his  tongue, 
Is  that  more  wrong  than  Berlioz  on  LPs  harped  and  sung? 

So  much  electric  fills  our  lives,  some  bad,  some  good,  some 


But  look!  there  Shaw  and  Shakespeare  dance  on  Channel  7’s 
sill: 

A gift  of  hearts  and  minds  and  eyes  to  see  our  dark/llght  face, 

To  weigh  and  balance  halos/blights  that  half-destroy  our  race; 

To  midget  make  our  rocket-ships,  and  squeeze  grand  Kong 
down  small 

Then  Giants  grow  from  Shavian  seed  to  taunt,  provoke  us  alt. 

As  man  himself  a mixture  is,  rambunctious  paradox, 

So  we  must  teach  our  mad  machines:  stand  tall,  pull  up  your 
socks! 

Come  run  with  me,  while  children/men,  half  dires  and  dooms, 
half  clowns. 

Pace  robot  mice,  race  robot  men,  wln-lose  In  robot  towns. 


64  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


The  History  of  Robots 

By  Forest  J.  Ackerman 


This  article  is  excerpted  from  a record  made  by  the 
author , Consequently,  to  enjoy  it  to  its  utmost  turn  off  all 
the  fights  but  one,  sit  back  in  your  easy  chair  and  read , As 
you  read , you  will  find  yourself  being  taken  on  a fantastic 
journey  into  the  world  of  robots. 

— Editor 

Hello,  this  is  Forrest  Ackerman,  Editor  of  Famous 
Monsters  of  Filmland  and  Spacemen . I’ve  heard  from 
thousands  and  thousands  of  you  fans  since  the  world's 
original  film  monster  magazine  began  in  1958,  and 
many’s  the  time  I wished  that  I was  the  beast  with  a 
million  eyes  — in  order  to  read  all  your  letters  quicker. 
Well,  having  heard  from  all  of  you,  it  seems  only  fair  — 
doesn’t  it  — that  you  should  hear  from  all  of  me. 

As  you  probably  guessed,  I’m  Doctor  Ackula  and 
Karlon  Torgosi  and  his  sister  Vespertina.  (Vespertina  is 
the  Transylvanian  word  for  bat.)  I'm  also  Weaver  Wright 
and  Spencer  Strong  and  a long  list  of  other  names,  in- 
cluding Mechanical  Man  and  Robot  Mitchum. 

I've  been  interested  in  robots  for  about  35  years  and 
as  a boy  of  ten,  I had  the  thrilling  experience  of  seeing 
the  great  film  masterpiece  "Metropolis”  when  it  was 
brand  new.  It  was  a silent  picture  produced  in  the  mid- 
twenties and  the  most  unforgettable  scene  was  when 
the  robot  was  animated.  When  that  smooth,  streamlined 
mechanical  humanoid  figure  was  commanded  to  rise  by 
Rotwang,  its  creator,  and  slowly,  ever  so  siowly,  an  inch 
at  a time,  almost  like  Im-ho-tep,  the  Egyptian  mummy 
dead  3700  years,  the  robot  moved  and  came  to  life.  You 
could  almost  hear  the  whirring  as  Rotwang,  his  artificial 
hand  covered  with  a black  leather  glove,  ordered  his 
robotrix  — it  was  in  female  form,  you  see  — to  rise  from 
her  chair  and  present  her  cold,  steel  hand  to  John 
Masterman,  the  master  of  Metropolis  — the  greatest  city 
on  earth  in  the  year  2026.  Twenty  Twenty-six,  hmm. 
Come  to  think  of  it,  that's  quite  a few  years  yet. 

Do  you  suppose  we'll  have  to  wait  that  long  to  see  real 
robots?  I doubt  it.  Actually,  already  the  robots  are 
among  us.  And  that’s  the  title  of  a fascinating  book  by 
Rolf  Strehl.  He  says  that,  fantastic  as  it  may  seem,  the 
time  may  one  day  come  when  the  man  on  the  streets 
may  be  as  rare  a sight  as  a horse  is  today. 

Robot  chess  players  may  not  seem  very  alarming,  Mr. 
Strehl  says,  and  electronic  calculators  that  can  perform 
in  a minute  the  work  of  ten  men  laboring  ceaselessly  for 
a hundred  years  are  an  obvious  advantage.  But  what  of 
the  robot  spy?  The  guided  missile  with  its  atomic 
warhead  satellite  eyes  in  the  skies. 

The  disturbing  incident  of  the  robot  that  ran  amuck 
and  Frankenstein-like  murdered  its  creator.  Of  lengen- 
dary  origin  is  our  first  information  about  the  artificial  be- 
ings known  as  androids.  Aristotle  described  the  wooden 
Venus,  capable  of  movement,  whose  limbs  were  filled 
with  mercury  instead  of  blood. 

During  the  third  century,  B.C.,  a flying  wooden  pigeon 
was  reported. 

In  the  tenth  century,  A.D.,  we  hear  of  the  creation  of 
an  automatic  talking  head.  The  great  genius  Leonardo 
de  Vinci  built  a moving  metal  lion  for  King  Louis  XII  and 
also  created  a metal  dragon. 

Leonard  Maelzl,  the  man  who  invented  the  Metronome, 
created  a sensation  during  his  life  time  with  a musical 

Copyright  1962  by  Ack-Coe  Chamber  Productions  for  Science 
Fiction  Records  Unlimited;  transcription  by  permission  of  For- 
rest J.  Ackerman  on  behalf  of  Frank  Coe. 


A Man  (Forrest  J.  Ackerman,  also  known  as  “4sJ”  Acker- 
man) Among  the  Robots:  Left  to  right:  Automaton  Gort 
(from  scientifilm  THE  DAY  THE  EARTH  STOOD  STILL), 
Robby  (from  FORBIDDEN  PLANET)  and  Ultima  Future 
Automaton  (from  Fritz  Lang's  scientifilmasterpfece  of 
the  21st  Century  city  of  60  million  people  — METRO- 
POLIS), Photo  by  Walter  j,  Daugherty,  courtesy  of  The 
Ackerman  Science  Fiction  Archives. 


android  completed  in  1807.  He  also  demonstrated  a 
chess  machine  which  inspired  Edgar  Allen  Poe  to  write 
“Maravifle's  Chessman.” 

In  1778,  Baron  Kempleman  of  Bohemia,  publicly  demon- 
strated the  first  talking  robot.  The  first  machine  to  speak 
through  artificial  means.  A publication  of  the  day  reported 
that  "the  monstrous  thing  spoke  with  a voice  of  a three 
to  four  year  old  child,  in  a distinct,  clear  and  slow  voice.” 

in  the  French  play  "The  Revolt  of  the  Machines,” 
huge  angles,  super  tractors,  gigantic  cranes,  mechani- 
cal saws,  dynamic  dredgers,  even  psychological 
thought-reading  devices  clash  with  one  another  in  the 
hall  of  a great  exhibition.  During  the  night,  the  machines 
break  through  the  wails  of  the  auditorium  and  run  wild  in 
the  streets  — destroying  homes,  knocking  over  towers, 
devastating  fields.  Military  might  is  mobilized  and  army 
artillery  is  dispatched  to  destroy  the  machine  monsters. 
But  the  guns,  and  tanks  and  cannons  refuse  to  fire  on 
their  fellow  machines,  and  Instead  join  the  rebels.  A few 
human  beings  escaped  and  from  a mountain  side  watched 
the  destruction  of  their  man-made  world.  Finally,  the  fore- 
man of  the  machines  succeeds  in  turning  them  against 
one  another,  but  in  the  ensuing  civil  war  they  completely 
destroy  each  other.  But  the  foreman  is  already  at  work 
on  new,  even  more  monstrous  machines.  And  the  likeli- 
hood is  that  it  will  happen  all  over  again. 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  65 


In  his  play,  “Millenium  I,"  W.A.  Dwiggins  pictured 
another  possible  revolt  of  the  robots.  “Millenium  I”  is  a 
frightening  play  about  Homogrub,  sub-terranian  man, 
hiding  from  murderous  machines  which  possess  incred- 
ibly  powerful  means  of  destruction.  At  one  point  of  the 
play,  a human  being  named  Biackm aster  encounters 
Point  33  Plus,  a robot.  And  the  robot  says:  “In  the  begin- 
ning was  man.  Man  created  all  things.  Man,  with  his  infi- 
nite skill,  created  machines  in  his  own  image.”  Black- 
master  interrupts,  “No,  no.  Not  like  himself.  That  was 
not  the  idea.  Much  better  than  himself.  Finer.  Stronger. 
Man  made  you  and  we  were  proud  of  you  but  we  made 
you  too  strong.  You  broke  away  from  us.  We  lost  control 
of  you.  You  trampled  us  into  the  dust.  So  now  we've 
come  to  turn  you  back  into  the  earth  again.  Into  the  salts 
of  metals.  Back  into  the  earth  out  of  which  we  made  you.” 

And  now,  inevitably,  we  come  to  “R  U R — Rossums 
Universal  Robots.”  The  famous  play  that  introduced  the 
word  'robot'  into  the  English  language.  The  story,  as 
summarized  by  Sam  Moskowitz,  is  a tale  laid  in  the  near 
future,  on  an  island  whose  exact  location  is  not  speci- 
fied. Here  the  formula  that  chemically  produced  artifi- 
cial humans  for  use  as  workers  and  servants  had  been 
adapted  to  mass  production.  The  manufacturers  justi- 
fied their  position  on  the  grounds  that  eventually  robots 
will  free  men  from  all  toil  and  a utopia  will  emerge.  Un- 
fortunately, one  of  the  chemists  alters  the  formula,  and 
the  robots  who  hitherto  had  been  without  emotions, 
assume  the  desires  for  freedom  and  domination  that  pre- 
viously had  been  characteristic  only  of  the  human  race. 

The  emotionally  advanced  leaders  among  the  robots 
organized  a revolt  of  their  ranks,  which  now  number 
millions  in  key  positions  throughout  the  world.  The  rule 
of  man  is  cast  off  and  the  human  .race  is  ruthlessly 
exterminated.  At  play  on  their  little  island,  the  robot 
manufacturers  suspensefully  stave  off  robot  attack,  but 
are  betrayed  by  the  president  of  the  Humanitarian 
League,  who  even  burns  Rossum’s  original  formula  for 
the  creation  of  robots.  Remorselessly,  the  robots  destroy 
all  but  one  man  who  makes  amend  to  rediscover  Ros- 
sum's  formula.  They  offer  him  the  world  if  he  can  held 
them  rediscover  the  secret  of  the  creation  of  life.  How- 
ever, he  is  only  a builder,  not  a scientist,  and  cannot 
duplicate  the  method. 

In  the  end,  mutant  robots  named  Helena  and  Pymus 
become  the  Adam  and  Eve  of  the  new  android  world. 

In  the  films,  robots,  androids  and  humanoids  came  to 
the  screen  in  “Alita,”  an  early  Russian  space  film  of  a 
trip  to  Mars  and  a finding  of  a robot  civilization;  in  "Cap- 
tain Video,"  “The  Colossus  of  New  York,”  “The  Day  the 
Earth  Stood  Still,"— with  the  great  Gort,  the  heroic  robot 
from  space— “Devil  Girl  from  Mars,”  “Forbidden  Planet” 
— with  the  friendly  voice  of  Martin  Milner  as  Robbie — 
“Robot  Monster,"  "Target  Earth,"  “Togar  the  Great,” 
"The  Tonkie,"— about  a crazy,  mixed-up  T.V.  set  from 
the  future  that  could  move  about— “Vampires  Over  Lon- 
don" with  Bela  Lugosi  and  many,  many  others. 

Television  gave  us  the  notable  Alfred  Bester  play 
"Murder  and  the  Android.” 

And  now,  if  you  will  accompany  me  on  a journey  to  the 
future,  and  a visit  to  a robot  factory.  Mr.  Wells  has  kindly 
lent  me  his  time  machine.  And  Mr.  Pal  has  graciously 
taught  me  how  to  operate  it,  so  that  we  will  not  only  get 
to  the  future,  but  be  sure  of  getting  back.  There  is  one 
thing  you  must  understand,  however,  before  we  takeoff. 
We  can  only  go  as  observers  and  cannot  actually  interm- 
ingle. If  we  were  to  get  into  the  future  and  get  involved, 
there  could  be  some  disastrous  results.  Suppose,  for  ex- 
ample, a time  traveler  went  back  to  1926  and  kidnapped 
me  so  that  I never  saw  “Metropolis."  Why,  then  this 
story  might  never  have  existed.  So  whatever  you  do, 
don’t  leave  the  electronic  field  of  our  time  machine. 


O.K.?  Fasten  your  safety  belt. 

1970 

80 

90 

2000  — Wow,  travelled  so  fast,  here  we  are  in 
2050  already. 

Say,  isn’t  that  a nifty  rocket  car  that  robot  is  assem- 
bling? It  doesn't  look  like  it  needs  any  type  of  tires  or 
wheels.  Look  at  that  amazing  sight  over  there,  suspend- 
ed in  mid-air;  great  luminescent  side  — must  be  sup- 
ported by  an  anti-gravltic  principle.  Let’s  see,  it  says 
right  — yes,  it’s  the  three  laws  of  robotics  propounded 
by  the  great  Dr.  Asimov  back  in  the  middle  of  the  20th 
century.  The  red  sign  reads:  “A  robot  may  not  injure  a 
human  being  or  through  inaction  allow  a human  being  to 
come  to  harm."  The  yellow  one  says:  “A  robot  must 
obey  the  orders  given  it  by  human  beings  except  where 
such  orders  would  conflict  with  the  first  law.”  And  the 
white  one:  “A  robot  must  protect  its  own  existence  as 
long  as  such  protection  does  not  conflict  with  the  first 
or  second  law.”  Very  sensible  rules. 

Robots  must  — GOOD  HEAVENS,  the  cable  snapped. 
It’s  holding  together  by  a shred  of  metal.  The  man  there 
— the  foreman  — right  below  a car  dangling  over  his 
head!  I don’t  think  he  sees  the  danger.  The  robots,  the 
robot’s  super  sensitive  photoeletric  cells  must  have 
detected  the  danger.  The  robot’s  now  leaping  at  the 
startled  man,  who  thinks  he's  gone  mad  and  attacking 
him.  Now  he  looks  up  and  he  sees  the  danger  too  late. 
At  the  last  moment  the  robot  has  swept  up  the  foreman 
in  his  huge  steel  arms  and  tossed  him  out  of  the  path  of 
the  plunging  steel  object.  The  dazed  man  is  being 
helped  to  his  feet  by  two  other  robots.  He  looks  at  the 
mass  of  twisted  wreckage,  and  realizes  it  is  the  robot 
who  has  saved  his  life  that  lies  smashed  underneath. 
Smashed  beyond  repair.  The  faithful  mechanical  ser- 
vant, saved  his  life  at  the  sacrifice  of  its  own. 

Well,  that  was  some  experience.  Now,  just  let  me  ad- 
just this  spacial  control  and  we’ll  move  to  another 
observation  point. 

There’s  a sign  ahead.  “Fifty  Miles  to  Ross  urn  City  — 
Population:  2 Million  . . . Robots  — Speed  Limit:  200 
Miles  Per  Hour.” 

There  is  a jet  car  literally  flying  down  the  road;  seems 
to  be  going  faster  than  that  that.  Oh,  oh!  Police  plane 
has  spotted  it.  It’s  zooming  down,  broadcasting  instruc- 
tions to  stop.  Well,  I’ll  be!  It’s  a robot  at  the  controls  of 
the  car.  And  the  police  are  robots,  too.  I see  what’s  hap- 
pened. The  robot  driver  has  a human  passenger  who’s 
been  hurt,  and  he's  rushing  him  to  a hospital.  The  robot 
police  are  now  moving  the  man  to  their  plane,  and  there 
they  go. 

Wow!  What  a world!  Wish  I had  time  to  stay  here  and 
sight  see  all  over  the  planet,  but  the  warning  bell  on  my 
time  machine  has  sounded,  letting  me  know  it’s  time  to 
return  to  our  world  and  our  own  time.  Hang  on. 

Well,  wasn’t  that  something.  That  glimpse  of  the 
robotic  world  of  the  future.  You  know,  something  occur- 
red to  me  while  watching  those  automatons  function. 
They  look  a lot  like  men,  do  much  of  man’s  work.  I 
wonder  if . . . excuse  me  a second.  Calling  electronics 
department,  please.  Hi,  Frank.  Forrest  Ackerman.  Say, 
Frank,  you’re  a sound  effects  man  always  fooling 
around  with  electronic  devices.  Tell  me,  do  you  suppose 
robots  would  enjoy  listening  to  music?  I’m  not  joking. 
You  think  that  if  robots  are  an  electronic  creation  that 
they  enjoy  listening  to  electronic  music?  So  by  utilizing 
the  variable  frequency  audible  generator  you  think  you 
could  create  a scientific  symphony?  It  would  not  only 
send  our  metal  friends,  but  would  also  be  fascinating  to 
human  ears.  Would  you  be  willing  to  work  on  it?  You 
already  have?!  I can’t  wait  to  hear  it.D 


66  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


DISK  SYSTEMS 
\ Let  You  Make  the  Choice 


INTELLIGENT  CONTROLLER 
OP  DUMB  CONTROLLER 

INFO  2000  has  just  added  a new;  lower  cost  S-100  “dumb”  controller  disk  system  to  Sts  already  popular  line  of  “intel- 
ligent controller  disk  systems  for  S-100,  Digital  Group,  and  Heath  kit  MS  microcomputers. 

All  INFO  2000  disk  systems  feature  the  incomparable  PerSci  277  dual  diskette  drives  witli  voice-coil  positioning  and 
seek  time  up  to  eight  times  faster  than  competitive  stcpping-mutur-tvpe  drives,  All  INFO  2000  disk  systems  are  fully 
assembled,  rigorously  tested,  and  include  case,  power  supply,  cables,  and  software.  All  INFO  2000  disk  systems  include 
the  CP/M  Disk  Operating  System  and  support  the  complete  INFO  2000  library  of  software  for  8080,  8085,  and  Z80- 
based  systems.  All  INFO  2000  disk  systems  include  complete  I/O  driver  software  CUSTOMIZED  for  your  specific 
equipment  configuration  at  no  additional  cost,  assuring  you  of  a hassle -free  plug-in -an  d-go  installation. 

And  now,  S-100  users  can  choose  the  kind  of  controller  that  makes  the  most  sense  fur  their  specific  application t 
intelligent  or  dumb, 

INTELLIGENT  CONTROLLER  DUMB  CONTROLLER 

DISK  SYSTEM  DISK  SYSTEM 


This  system  uses  the  remarkable  PerSci  1070  “intelligent" 
controller,  which  incorporates  its  own  dedicated  8080  micro- 
processor, 4K  of  EPROM  containing  extensive  file  manage- 
ment firmware,  IK  of  RAM  buffer  memory,  and  eight-bit 
parallel  interface. 

The  “intelligent"  controller  is  actually  a single-board 
computer  dedicated  to  the  task  of  managing  the  disk 
system.  It  requires  a minimum  of  interface  logic  and 
very  tittle  support  software  in  the  host  computer. 

This  makes  it  exceptionally  easy  to  interface  to  almost 
any  kind  of  computer  system  or  software  system. 

I N FO  2000  p ro  vi  dcs  i n te  rf aci  ng  h a rd w are 
(Adapter  Hoards)  for  all  S-100,  Digital  Group 
and  Heathkit  H8  microcomputers.  The  Adapter 
Boards  provide  all  necessary  interfacing  logic,  power 
regulation,  and  support  an  EPROM-resident  CP/M 
bootstrap  loader.  The  Heathkit  H8  Adapter  Board 
replaces  the  Heath  8080  CPU  board  and  upgrades  the  HK  to  a 
Z80. 

If  you  change  to  a different  kind  of  computer  in  the 
future,  you  can  Still  use  your  disk  drive  and  controller.  You 
need  only  purchase  the  appropriate  replacement  INFO  2000 
Adapter  Board. 

Prices  for  the  complete  INFO  2000  Disk  System  with 
“intelligent"  controller: 

$2,850  for  S-100  or  Digital  Group 
$2,950  for  Heathkit  H8 


This  new  system  uses  the  new  S-100  controller  board 
developed  by  INFO  2000  Corporation  especially  for  our 
own  Business  System.  The  new  "dumb"  controller  is  sub- 
stantially less  expensive,  and  is  designed  specifically  to 
maximize  the  performance  of  the  PerSci  277  dual  diskette 
drive  when  used  in  a CP/M  software  environment. 

The  controller  is  fully  IBM  3740  compatible, 
and  provides  advanced  functions  not  often 
found  in  low-cost  units:  full  so  f sectored 
diskette  formatting,  multi -sector  reads  and 
writes,  verified  seeks,  and  complete  diagnos- 
tic capabilities. 

This  new  controller  is  FAST!  A full  verified 
disk  copy  takes  less  than  a minute.  Formatting 
a new  diskette  takes  less  than  half  a minute. 

A CP/M  re-boot  is  almost  instantaneous  (on^tbird 
of  a second).  There  are  no  performance  compromis- 
es. 

The  INFO  2000  controller  is  available  with  an  "I/O 
Option”.  This  adds  two  RS232  serial  ports  with  software- 
sclcctahle  baud  races,  3 8-bit  parallel  ports  (2  output,  1 in- 
put), and  sockets  for  an  additional  7K  of  2708-type 
EPROM  (1 K is  standard).  All  of  this  is  contained  on  the 
same  S-100  board  which  holds  the  controller,  and  the  cost 
of  the  "I/O  option"  is  S 1 50—  far  less  than  the  cost  of  a 
comparable  sen  a] /parallel  interface  board  and  an  EPROM 

b..,d  $2,450  for  INFO  2000 
S-100  DISK  SYSTEM 


SUPPORT  SOFTWARE 

INFO  2000  Disk  Systems  arc  supported  by  the  most  extensive  library  of  software  available  anywhere.  All  INFO  2000 
Disk  System  prices  include  the  Digital  Research  CP/M  Disk  Operating  System  and  an  EPROM  containing  I/O  driver 
software  customised  for  your  specific  hardware  configuration.  INFO  2000  also  offers  a choice  of  three  BAStCs,  two 
FORTRANs,  three  assemblers,  rwo  text  editors,  a word  processing  package,  a fast  sort 
package,  and  much  more  software.  Write  Of  phone  to  receive  our  brochure  with  full  _ 

details.  IMF!  SIM 

CORPORATION 

You  may  also  be  interested  in  the  INFO  2000  Business  System-a  complete  data  pro-  20630  South  Leap  wood  Avenue 
cessing  system  tor  small  businesses,  with  full  accounting  and  word  processing  software,  Corson, California 90746 
and  priced  under  ten  thousand  dollars.  {2)3)532-1702 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO-  2B 


DISK  SYSTEMS 


68  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


The  Quasar  Industries’  Robot 

A Dream  That  Came  True 


By  Gene  Beley 

Android  Amusement  Corporation 


Robots  are  going  to  be  part  of  our  everyday  lives,  and 
Quasar  Industries  seems  to  have  a head  start  on  getting 
us  there. 

Gene  presents  the  story  of  Quasar  in  a light-hearted 
fashion,  and  whets  the  imagination  for  future  develop- 
ments. — Editor 

Nine  years  before  Star  Wars  jetted  through  the  movie 
theaters  of  the  world,  introducing  two  lovable  robots, 
Quasar  Industries,  Inc.  of  New  Jersey  gave  birth  to  a full- 
size  working  'droid,  Klatu.  Even  though  Klatu  was  the  re- 
sult of  more  than  40  designs  submitted  by  an  eight-man 
team  of  engineers  and  scientists,  of  whom  nearly  all 
succumbed  to  death  or  serious  illnesses  before  his  suc- 
cesful  completion,  there  was  no  worldwide  media  fan- 
fare. In  fact,  Klatu  was  quickly  put  to  work  to  help  pay 
R&D  costs.  From  the  very  beginning,  Quasar  Industries 
began  leasing  the  robot  out  to  corporation  and  others 
for  an  attention-getting  marketing  tool. 

To  this  day,  Klatu  and  his  31  brother  and  sister  robots 
lend  their  15-square-foot  coni  cal -shaped  bodies  for  dis- 
playing various  graphics  and  logos  of  major  corporate 
clients  like  Panasonic,  Ingersoll-Rand,  I.T.T.,  major 
banks,  and  others  who  can  afford  their  star-billing  rates. 
Currently,  they  are  leasing  for  $700-$l500  a day,  plus  ex- 
penses. These  robot  stars  fly  first  class  on  commercial 
jets  when  they  travel  to  engagements.  Moreover,  each 
robot  is  accompanied  by  two  robot  technicians  wherever 
they  travel. 

Quasar  Industries  now  has  32  working  'droids,  which 
they  call  Sales  Promotional  Androids,  or  SPA’S  for 
short.  In  addition,  Quasar  Industries  has  working  pro- 
totypes of  the  Domestic  Android,  robot-servant,  which 
will  be  marketed  within  two  years  for  approximately 
$4,000;  a seven-foot  high  security -guard  robot  with  a 
$75,000  price  tag;  and  a Para-Medic  Robot  that  will  work 
in  hospitals  that  can  afford  the  $50,000  tariff. 

HOW  IT  ALL  BEGAN 

Anthony  Reichelt,  who  has  an  engineering,  design 
and  marketing  background,  started  to  make  a 30-inch 
toy  robot  that  would  speak  about  25  words  on  cue.  He 
quickly  learned,  after  much  research,  that  would  be  too 
expensive  to  market  as  a toy.  However,  he  decided  there 
was  a market  for  domestic  androids. 

“We  began  with  an  eight-man  team  of  scientists  and 
engineers  who  set  goals  of  developing  three  basic 
robots;  the  Domestic  Android,  Century  guard  robot,  and 
•he  Sales  Promotional  Android,"  Reichelt  said.  "Due  to 
the  state  of  technology  eight  years  ago  and  the  eco- 
nomic factors,  the  Sales  Promotional  Android  received 
the  top  priority. 

"In  1968  we  produced  the  first  SPA  series  robot.  To 
give  you  an  idea  of  how  far  we’ve  come  since  then,  we 
are  now  working  with  our  SPA  20  series,  which  repre- 
sents many  technical  advancements.” 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  69 


Volume  VIII 

The  1040  Tax  Form  Schedules  A & B 
will  be  available  at  the  end  of  February 

$19.95 


Volumes 

VI&VII 

are  finally 
released! 


Volume  VI 

Yes  and  it  still  contains  what  was  previously 
advertised.  A fully  disk  interactive  business 
package  with  A/R,  Inv.,  A/P,  ledgers,  tax  totals, 
payroll  records,  more. 

As  a bonus  it  also  contains  the  Users  Manual  for 
our  Firmware  Ledger  package.  These  100  extra 
pages  contain  report  formats,  file  creation  rou- 
tines and  our  very  powerful  program  ACBS1  used 
to  create  the  powerful  file  structured  data  base. 

$49.95 

* '-OHPLF- 


Volume  VII 

Here  is  that  Chess  program  you  have  been 
waiting  for  as  well  as  a disk  interactive  Medical 
Billing  package  with  patient  history  file. 

Also  included  is  our  disk  interactive  Word 
Processing  package 
(revision  0). 

$39.95 

Add  $1 .50 /Vo I.  for  U P S.  and  handling  except  to  APO  and  PO  addresses. 
Foreign  orders  add  S8/V0L  for  air  shipment  — US  dollars  only,  No  purchase 
orders  over  $50. 


VOLUME 

U ij  S S r 

1 - $24.95 

VOLUME 

II  — 24.95 

VOLUME 

III  - 39.95 

VOLUME 

IV  - 

9.95 

VOLUME 

V — 

9.95 

H 


OUR  SOFTWARE  IS  COPY- 
RIGHTED AND  MAY  NOT  BE 
REPRODUCED  OR  SOLD. 

Due  to  the  numerous  copyright  violations  on 
our  earlier  volumes  — until  further  notice  we 
are  offering  a REWARD  leading  to  the  arrest 
and  conviction  of  anyone  reproducing  our 
software  In  ANY  way  without  our  written 
permission.  This  Includes  diskettes,  paper  and 
magnetic  tape,  cassettes,  records,  paper 
copies,  etc. 


SCIENTIFIC 

RESEARCH 


220-1  Knollwood 
Key  Biscayne,  FL  33149 

Phone  orders  (800)  327-6543 
Information  305-361-1153 


AVAILABLE  AT  MOST  COMPUTER  STORES 


honored 


70  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  48 


APRIL  1978 


That  first  eight-man  research  and  design  team  was 
made  financially  possible  through  the  predecessor  com- 
pany and  a small  stock  issue  in  New  Jersey  to  form  Qua- 
sar industries,  Inc.  “We  organized  for  the  specific  pur- 
pose of  making  mechanical  humanoids/'  said  Reichelt, 
“and  that  has  continued  to  be  our  exclusive  business  to 
this  very  day/' 

The  SPA’s  are  five  feet,  four  inches  tall,  which  the 
company  found  was  the  best  height  for  maximum  psy- 
chological appeal  in  promotional  events.  The  SPA's 
weigh  240  pounds,  which  make  them  light  enough  for 
almost  any  method  of  travel.  The  conical-shaped  bodies 
provide  the  proper  balance  necessary  for  working  sales- 
men 'droids  to  operate  in  a crowd  without  tipping  over. 

Quasar  Industries'  robots  do  not  have  any  facial  fea- 
tures. Reichelt’s  staff  long  ago  learned,  though,  that 
there  was  a psychological  advantage:  their  robots  didn’t 
get  type-casted  into  a set  image.  They  were  identified 
with  the  sponsor. 

Underneath  the  exterior  costumes  and  “stage' 
names  beats  the  heart  of  Klatu's  Q-16,  special  robotic 
comptuer,  designed  from  scratch  and  capable  of  voice 
recognition  and  audio  responses.  Reichelt  explains  that 
the  SPA  rolls  on  hidden  tires  underneath  its  conical- 
shaped body  and  can  go  in  any  direction  at  various 
speeds.  Arms,  elbows,  and  hands  are  fully  programmed 
and  can  operate  independently.  Though  the  SPA  canTt 
see  in  the  same  sense  as  humans,  its  sensors  detect 
shades  of  light  to  determine  mass,  in  an  uncluttered 
area,  the  SPA's  can  move  with  great  freedom.  When  the 
crowd  gets  too  big,  it  will  go  to  sensory  overload,  stand 
still,  until  it  is  able  to  act  again.  Air-filied  rubber  rings 
encircling  the  conical  base  of  the  robots  provide  sen- 
sors to  prevent  bumping  into  objects.  The  SPA  has  a top 
speed  of  about  20  miles  an  hour. 

Quasar  industries  started  to  design  a five-digit  hand 
but  rejected  it  because  of  overall  cost  and  power  require- 
ments to  build  six  motors  necessary  to  operate  each 
assembly.  The  final  two-digit  system  in  use  today  required 
almost  one  year  of  revisions  before  it  was  perfected.  The 
steel  tube  arms  with  elbow,  wrist,  and  motor  drives  are 
covered  with  flexible  tubes  (that  look  like  common  vacuum 
cleaner  hoses).  Original  additional  movements  included 
rotation  of  the  head  and  waist,  but  have  been  rejected 
for  power,  space,  and  practical  requirements. 


“No  one  will  ever  know  the  total  frustration  and  dis- 
couragement we  suffered  in  our  small  lab  creating 
Klatu,11  sighed  Reichelt.  “Weeks,  or  even  months  of  ex- 
hausting work  would  be  completely  wasted  with  the 
push  of  a button  or  inserting  a plug. 

“There  was  no  manual  or  reference  book  to  follow.  The 
team  was  literally  writing  the  book  as  they  went  along.” 
Thus  it  becomes  more  understandable  why  Reichelt 
attempts  to  maintain  company  secrecy  about  the  inner- 
workings  of  his  robots.  Although  he  has  made  some 
television  appearances  and  gives  occasional  interviews, 
he  prefers  to  remain  in  the  background,  or  out  on  the 
road  with  his  robot  teams,  as  “that  is  where  the  real 
R&D  is  being  done  today.” 

The  original  research  team  was  hampered  by  constant 
daily  problems  of  where  to  find  parts,  system  adaptation 
and  body  design.  But  these  were  only  minor  problems, 
“Fate  seemed  to  strike  one  blow  after  another,  as  if 
someone,  or  some  unknown  force,  was  trying  to  block 
our  progress,1'  Reichelt  remembers. 

“The  physicist  working  in  the  area  of  subsystems 
compatibility  suddenly  died,"  he  continued.  “Before  the 
team  could  recover  from  that  shock,  the  professor,  with 
a Doctorate  in  Engineering,  and  specialist  in  inertial 
guidance  systems,  went  blind.1’ 

More  medical  problems  hampered  the  team.  The  laser 
specialist  developed  a serious  kidney  disease;  the 
mechanical  engineer  working  on  the  interrelated  mech- 
anical systems  retired  because  of  multiple  sclerosis. 
And  two  more  members  of  the  team,  the  research  spe- 
cialist for  parts  analysis  and  the  power  applications 
engineer,  died  before  Klatu  was  completed. 

That  left  only  two  original  team  members  to  see  Klatu 
leave  the  lab  under  his  own  power.  Inside  he  contained 
the  desire,  dreams,  and  dedication  of  eight  human  be- 
ings. Klatu  finally  could  walk,  talk,  and  perform  well 
enough  to  be  leased  out  for  promotional  events.  As  time 
progressed,  the  voice  was  further  developed  to  include 
inflections.  A fightening-bolt-like  streak  of  light  illumi- 
nates its  head  when  it  talks. 

Quasar  Industries  feels,  now  that  the  public  has  ac- 
cepted robots,  it  is  time  to  move  into  Phase  II  of  their 
master-plan.  The  Rutherford,  New  Jersey  robot  factory 
is  now  gearing  down  to  manufacture  the  Domestic  An- 
droid (trademark)  within  18-24  months.  Reichelt  projects 
they  will  produce  125  such  robots  a day  that  will  sell  for 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  71 


approximately  $4,000.  The  Domestic  Android  will  be  pro- 
grammable via  a computer  control  on  its  right  hand  to 
serve  dinner,  vacuum,  baby-sit,  answer  your  front  door, 
or  sen/e  drinks.  A 250-word  vocabulary  will  be  sufficient 
to  impress  yourfriends  and  insult  yourenemies. 

Of  course,  this  is  straight  out  of  the  first  chapter  in 
Isaac  Asimov’s  book,  I,  Robot,  which  tells  about  the 
robot  babysitter.  The  child’s  mother  grew  concerned 
when  she  felt  the  child  should  have  something  like  a 
dog  that  could  return  love  and  pressured  her  husband  to 
get  rid  of  the  robot.  The  child  became  despondent  over 
the  loss  of  her  robot  friend,  and  the  story  continues 
about  the  search  for  her  mechanical  babysitter. 

Perhaps  the  answer,  according  to  a poem  by  Ray 
Bradbury,  would  be  a robot  grandmother,  one  who  could 
give  ’’equal  love”  to  her  grandchildren.  Bradbury,  the 
science-fiction  author  and  father  of  four  daughters, 
wrote  "Robot  Grandmother”  while  observing  the  per- 
sonal frustrations  of  parents  trying  to  give  equal  love. 

REACTIONS  OF  HUMANS  TO  ROBOTS 

In  Los  Angeles,  California,  senior  citizens  visiting  a 
department  store  where  the  SPA,  Klatu,  was  modeling 
jackets  for  a ski  parka  company,  looked  in  disbelief  at 
what  they  were  seeing,  “What  is  it?”  one  dares  to  ask  a 
sales  clerk. 

"A  robot,"  the  clerk  replies,  with  a wide  smile,  rather 
nonchalantly. 

"Now  I’ve  seen  everything,1'  mumbles  one  of  the  senior 
citizens,  shuffling  away.  "Now  I can  die  in  peace.” 

In  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  at  a hospital  charity  bene- 
fit, the  SPA  was  whirring  up  and  down  the  hallways,  in 
and  out  of  the  rooms.  The  robot  was  playing  and  joking 
with  the  children.  However,  upon  arriving  at  a room 
marked  "Do  Not  Disturb,"  Robot  Master  and  Quasar  In- 
dustries’ President  Anthony  Reicheit  asked  a doctor 
what  was  wrong  with  the  child  in  the  room.  Reicheit 
learned  the  child  had  been  in  an  auto  accident.  Although 
the  boy  had  recovered  from  a coma  and  was  capable  of 
speaking,  he  had  chosen  not  to  speak,  probably 
because  he  was  still  in  shock. 

"The  doctors  and  staff  psychologists  hadn't  been  able 
to  get  the  boy  to  speak,”  Reicheit  recalls.  "I  obtained  his 
permission  to  allow  the  robot  to  go  Into  the  room  with 
the  boy,  alone.” 

"Why  are  you  feeiing  so  sorry  for  yourself?”  the  robot 
asked  the  boy.  And  then  they  began  trading  insults,  like 
the  robot’s  threatening  to  “put  tire  tracks”  on  the  boy  if 
he  didn't  begin  speaking.  Within  30  minutes,  the  boy 
was  babbling  away  with  the  robot. 

This  rewarding  experience  led  Reicheit  to  observe  the 
need  for  a Para-Medic  Robot,  which  he  now  has  built 
and  trademarked.  It  is  designed  for  doctors  to  use  in 
psychiatric  cases,  especially  with  children,  and  will  be 
specially  padded  and  easily  programmed  by  the  doctors 
behind  a one-way  mirror. 

The  preceeding  represent  the  wide  range  of  emotions 
humans  project  upon  seeing  a real  robot  for  the  first 
time.  Reicheit,  who  understandably  prefers  to  travel 
with  the  robots,  versus  "flying  a desk,"'  could  probably 
write  a book  on  the  reactions  of  humans  to  robots  over 
the  past  nine  years. 

On  the  more  fun  side  of  the  fence,  the  London  Daily 
Mail  newspaper  invited  Quasar  Industries  to  bring  the 
Domestic  Android  prototype  to  Great  Britain.  “We  had 
the  robot  buy  his  own  ticket  at  the  airport,"  chuckled 
Reicheit,  "and  board  a British  Airways  jet  to  London 
with  myself  and  the  London  Daily  Mail  photographer. 

"We  were  about  2,000  miles  out  over  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  and  the  stewardess  was  getting  ready  to  serve 
breakfast.  Phil,  the  photographer,  asked  me  to  have  the 
robot  serve  breakfast.  It  took  several  minutes  to  pro- 


gram the  robot,  and  it  began  going  up  and  down  the  aisle, 
serving  grapefruit  to  passengers  that  morning." 

"And  how  was  your  flight,  Aunt  Maude?”  Britishers 
were  probably  greeting  relatives  landing  at  the  airport. 

“You  won’t  believe  it  — a robot  served  breakfast  for 
the  stewardess  this  morning,”  passengers  were  heard 
to  reply.  Just  as  the  relatives  or  friends  were  wondering 
if  they  should  call  a doctor,  off  walked  the  robot,  with 
the  photographer  taking  pictures.  Few  celebrities  get 
the  kind  of  attention  a robot  commands  upon  landing  at 
a major  airport. 

OCCUPATION:  ROBOT  TECHNICIAN 

There  are  a handful  of  humans  in  the  United  States  to- 
day who  list  that  occupation  on  their  official  Internal 
Revenue  tax  returns.  Of  course,  25  years  from  today,  the 
number  will  greatly  multiply.  In  the  not-too-distant 
future,  colleges  will  undoubtedly  institute  formal  degree 
courses  in  robotics  — a word  barely  coined  now. 

The  entire  technology  is  already  taught  in  colleges, 
but  no  one  has  put  it  together  in  a precise  course.  It 
would  undoubtedly  consist  of  computer  and  mechanical 
technology:  physics,  geometry,  and  a wide  degree  of  ex- 
perimentation, according  to  Anthony  Reicheit.  Although 
he  is  hesitant  to  divulge  his  technicians'  names  "be- 
cause the  press  would  interfere  with  them  getting  their 
normal  work  accomplished"  and  "competitive  reasons 
in  a dog-eat-dog  world,"  he  consented  to  divulge  his 
training  system  to  INTERFACE  AGE  for  this  special 
issue  on  robotics. 

“We’ve  taken  people  from  all  walks  of  life  — not  just 
the  scientific  or  technical  fields,"  Reicheit  begins.  “An 
example  is  an  oceanography  student  I met  who  took  a 
liking  to  the  robot.  We  hired  him  part  time  on  his  college 
vacations,  and  he  eventually  changed  his  major  to  com- 
puter technology.  He  graduated  and  now  works  full  time 
for  Quasar  Industries. 

“A  beginner  starts  as  a trainee,  whom  we  call  a Manu- 
facturer's Helper  in  the  shop.  We  tend  to  develop  a 
specialization  within  each  person.  Eventually,  they 
reach  the  level  of  Assistant  Monitor  Technician,  which 
is  simply  an  Assistant  Technician. 

“Next  comes  Technician,  then  Command  Program- 
mer. The  Command  Programmer  is  in  charge  of  one  or 
more  shows  where  the  robot  is  appearing. 

“After  about  4,000  hours  of  actual  robot  performing 
time,  the  accompanying  Command  Programmer  is  eli- 
gible for  the  ultimate  title  of  Robot  Master.  He  then  may 
have  as  many  as  four  different  Command  Programmers 
under  his  supervision." 

Reicheit  himself  wears  a gold  "Robot  Master”  emblem, 
made  especially  for  him  by  a jeweler  in  Beverly  Hills.  He 
is  the  greatest  task-master  and  perfectionist  of  them  all. 
When  they  are  traveling  on  the  trade  show  and  promo- 
tional event  circuit,  although  they  may  enjoy  attending 
client  parties  at  night,  Reicheit,  the  Chief  Robot  Master, 
can  always  be  seen  in  the  wee  hours  of  the  morning, 
back  in  the  motel  room,  touching  up  small  scratches  on 
the  robot’s  conical-shaped  body  with  a can  of  spray- 
paint  and  checking  out  the  mechanical  functions  for  the 
next  day’s  show.  Naturally,  there  is  an  element  of  show 
business  to  the  bookings,  scheduling  and  behind-the- 
scenes  somewhat  grueling  life  on  the  road.  Reicheit, 
who  is  fortunate  to  have  wife  Eileen  as  Marketing  Direc- 
tor at  the  New  Jersey  headquarters,  is  proud  of  their 
record:  in  nearly  10  years,  they  have  never  missed  a con- 
tracted performance. 

This  has  not  been  easy.  One  time,  with  a show  sched- 
uled in  Chicago,  he  told  his  two  robot  technicians  to 
leave  New  Jersey  Friday  in  a van  with  the  show  robot. 
"Although  the  show  wasn’t  until  Monday,  I told  them  to 
get  there,  set  up  and  then  fool  around. 

"They  called  me  in  Pennsylvania  and  said  they  were 


72  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


snowbound.  I asked  them  the  telephone  number  in  the 
pay  phone  booth  and  told  them  I'd  call  right  back. 

“I  got  out  maps  on  our  kitchen  table  that  night  and 
began  pinpointing  their  location.  I called  them  back  and 
told  them  to  double  back  and  take  a road  south/' 

“How  far  South?"  asked  the  technician  in  the  cold, 
snowy  phone  booth. 

“Until  you  run  out  of  snow,"  Reichelt  replied  in  his 
typical  fashion. 

Fortunately,  the  technicians  had  credit  cards  and 
some  cash  to  sustain  them.  Reichelt  ordered  them  to 
call  him  at  his  home  throughout  that  night,  every  hour  as 
close  to  the  hour  as  possible,  so  he  could  calculate  the 
speed  of  their  travels  and  project  their  progress. 

“I  called  a friend  that  operates  a chartered  Lear  jet 
service,”  continued  Reichelt,  himself  a pilot  and  avia- 
tion enthusiast.  “I  told  him  to  have  the  Lear  jet  at  a parti- 
cuiar  airport,  ready  to  go  to  Chicago,  in  case  we  needed 
It.  As  it  turned  out,  my  crew  was  able  to  circle  around 
the  snowstorm  by  surface  roads  and  made  it  to  Chicago 
in  time  for  the  show.” 

This  type  of  philosophy  and  perfectionism  has  gained 
Quasar  Industries  the  great  respect  of  clients,  from  a 
cross  section  of  smaller  companies  that  use  the  Sales 
Promotional  Androids  to  compete  for  attention  with  the 
corporate  giants,  to  the  Fortuna  500  type  clients 
themselves,  who  love  the  robots. 

Although  it  isn't  something  Quasar  Industries  will 
readily  publicize,  the  life  of  a robot  technician  can  be 
quite  glamorous  on  the  road.  Since  the  robots  get  star- 
billing  fees  and  fly  first-class  to  many  destinations,  they 
frequently  work  for  clients  who  stage  elaborate  parties 
at  night.  Even  if  the  robot  doesn't  attend,  the  techni- 
cians are  almost  always  invited.  Another  fringe  benefit, 
not  listed  on  the  Internal  Revenue  tax  returns,  are  those 
beautiful  models  most  companies  hire  in  trade  show 
booths.  You  see,  robots  are  very  good  at  getting  the 
pretty  young  gals  turned  on  with  comeons  like,  “Okay, 
Baby,  give  me  a kiss.11  But  it  still  takes  the  human  touch 
to  satisfy  those  very  human  desires.  Although  it  isn’t  in 
the  basic  training  course,  Klatu  has  told  INTERFACE 
AGE  the  younger  technicians  are  very  good  at  taking 
over  where  he  leaves  off. 

WHAT'S  AHEAD  FOR 
QUASAR  INDUSTRIES’  ROBOTS? 

“Bubble-memory,  as  soon  as  it  becomes  practical  from 
a cost  standpoint,”  commented  Reichelt.  “This  techno- 
logical advancement  will  greatly  increase  the  capacity 
of  therobot  and  Usability  to  dodifferent  things.” 

Century  !,  a robot  designed  to  function  as  an  auto- 
mated security  guard  for  banks  or  military  installations, 
was  recently  introduced  at  the  annual  seminar  of  the 
American  Society  for  industrial  Security.  At  7 feet,  650 
pounds,  with  a bullet-proof  exterior  and  equipped  with  all 
sorts  of  “restraining  systems,11  Century  \ means  busi- 
ness. Its  single  purpose  will  be  to  find  and  immobilize 
intruders.  Sensors  in  the  robot  can  detect  movement, 
body  heat,  or  noise,  and  then  begins  stalking  the  human. 
Reichelt  said  its  restraining  systems  are  “nonlethal.” 

So  when  the  day  comes  that  Klatu  may  gain  his  deserved 
super-star  status,  or  his  descendants  start  a robot  rock 
group,  they  will  have  their  own  robot  security  guards. 
With  Quasar  Industries,  such  science-fiction  sounding 
products  exist  today  and  will  be  in  the  marketplace  sooner 
than  you  may  think.  As  for  the  robot  rock  group,  keep 
tuned  into  your  local  radio  and  TV  stations.  And  remem- 
ber, INTERFACE  AGE  predicted  it,  in  April,  1978.0 


Anyone  who  might  be  interested  in  finding  out  more 
about  the  Quasar  robots  can  contact  Gene  Beiey  at:  An- 
droid Amusement  Corporation , 2324  Lenta  Lane , Arcadia, 
Cati forma  91006 1 (213)  445-5330 . — Editor 


VECTOR 

PACKAGING  MATERIALS 
SAVE  TIME  & MONEY 


STOO  CARDS— 100  PLUG  CGNTACTS-Convenient  universal 
tinned  pads  and  bus  lines.  For  interface,  memory  expansion, 
breadboard! ng.  Mount  almost  anything  anywhere  on  card. 


STOO  CONNECTORS  for  WIRE  WRAPPING  or  SOLDERING 


BEAUTIFUL  Model  VP2 

NEWVECTOR^AK  V 

CASES  for  micro-computer 
circuitry,  assembled.  Constructed 

of  aluminum,  finished  in  vinyl.  Slide  out  covers  for  easy 
access.  Includes  card  guides,  heavy  chassis  plate,  perforated 
bottom  cover  for  cooler  operation. 

Card  guides  perpendicular  to  front  panel.  Model  VP1 P $1  28.30. 
Card  guides  parallel  to  front  panel,  Model  VP2,  $134.30. 


Model 

8803 


S100  MOTHERBOARD,  $29.50.  11  positions  ready  for 

connectors.  Glass  epoxy,  etched  circuitry  for  passive  or 
active  termination,  12  tantalum  capacitors  and  instructions. 


PLUS  revolutionary  Slit-N-Wrap  wiring  tools,  Micro-Vector- 
bord,®  printed  circuit  kits,  LC.  sockets,  extenders. 


Send  for  new  catalog. 

.VECTOR  ELECTRONIC  COMPANY,  Inc, 

) 12460  Gladstone  Avenue,  Sylmar,  CA  91342 
f phone  (21 3>  365-9661,  twx  910-496-1539 

540777 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  5fi 


INTERFACE  AGE  73 


II 

ri 

[ft  3k I fr 

Rfl 

1 » 

1 

j- 

mgl  {( 

From  Steam  Engines  to  Robots 


The  defining  of  just  what  constitutes  a robot  has  been 
dimmed  by  anthropological  bias,  or  the  impediment  of 
seeing  the  robotic  scene  through  Human-Colored 
glasses.  That  shambling  and  amiable  tin-man  traveler, 
on  the  Yellow  Brick  Road  to  Oz  may  be  far  more  accept- 
able to  the  viewer  than  the  most  complex  but  immobile 
logic  device.  Consequently,  there's  the  rub  . , , or  byte! 
When  does  a computer  become  a robot  brain? 

In  order  to  examine  these  perplexing  and  contempor- 
ary questions,  it  will  be  useful  to  consider  and,  if  pos- 
sible, categorize  the  various  hierarchies  of  the  robot  or 
cybernetic  world.  To  start  with,  there  is  the  pre-robotic 
environment  of  the  servo-mechanism,  with  its  self-bal- 
ancing feedback  loop(s).  Even  at  this  primitive  level,  the 
feedback  loop  is  itself  subject  ot  varying  levels  of  com- 
plexity, interaction,  and  adaptability.  Adaptability  is  the 
most  essential  feature  of  any  organism,  animal,  vege- 
table or  servo. 

Feedback  is  that  quality  which  immediately  separates 
a large  category  of  objects  and  systems.  The  most  ela- 
borate-appearing mechanism  is  nothing  in  comparison, 
when  put  beside  a tiny  device  endowed  with  the  quality 
of  governing  its  activities  in  proportion  to  the  varying  in- 
tensity of  its  input  stimuli,  and  output  responses. 

The  word  Cybernetic,  the  steersman  of  classical 
Greek,  comes  from  the  feedback  concept.  Here  is  the 
helmsman,  who  senses  the  movement  of  wind  and  wave, 
and  adjusts  the  rudder  accordingly  to  keep  the  ship 
upon  her  course. 

One  of  the  earliest  known  feedback  devices  was  the 
Baiile-Ble,  or  mill-hopper,  described  as  far  back  as  1588* 
Its  use  in  water  or  windmills  was  to  distribute  the  grain 
to  the  millstones,  according  to  the  rate  of  speed  of  the 
mill's  drive  shaft.  Such  feedback  factors  as  grain  flow. 


grain  hardness,  millstone  tension,  and  drive  shaft  force, 
all  interacted  to  determine  the  amount  of  grain  delivered 
to  the  stones. 

This  was,  of  course,  a very  primitive  level  of  feedback, 
the  grain-hopper  receiving  four  jolts  for  every  revolution 
of  the  shaft.  Man,  in  the  form  of  the  miller,  was  stilt  re- 
quired to  optimize  conditions  and  design  goals  by 
regulating  the  flow  of  water  to  the  drive  wheel  or  the 
wind  pressure  upon  the  sails,  and  to  adjust  the  proxim- 
ity of  the  millstones. 

Not  until  the  late  18th  Century  did  a more  familiar 
feedback  device  appear.  This  was  the  fly-ball  governor, 
another  contribution  of  James  Watt  to  the  perfection 
steam  power.  The  governor  consisted  of  a pair  of  iron 
balls  at  the  ends  of  hinged  arms,  and  linked  to  the 
engine's  drive  shaft.  As  the  shaft  speed  increased,  the 
balls  rotated  ever  faster,  responding  to  centrifugal  force 
and  causing  the  linkages  to  move*  This  movement  was 
coupled  to  the  steam  supply  throttle,  causing  it  to  cut 
off  the  steam  with  increased  speed  and  to  open  the 
valve  as  the  shaft  velocity  slowed.  The  tly-bail  governor 
continued  in  use  well  into  the  electrical  age  and  was 
even  employed  with  early  phonograph  motors* 

The  19th  Century  saw,  too,  the  growth  of  hydraulics 
as  a science,  and  feedback  also  appeared  here  in  the 
form  of  Leon  Farcot’s  Servo-Motor  of  1868.  Feedback 
was  also  discernable  in  nature,  with  many  writers  com- 
menting upon  it  in  terms  of  the  dependency  and  popula- 
tion oscillations  of  predator  and  prey  animals,  to  the 
conservation  of  energy  in  the  Solar  Phoenix  Cycle. 

World  War  II  saw  research  and  application  of  feed- 
back and  servomechanisms  advance  under  the  pressure 
of  wartime*  Bombsights,  anti-aircraft  gun  directors, 
and  radar  ail  fused  into  integrated  systems. 


74  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


. . . The  Hierarchies  of  Robotic  Devices 

Bv  F,  W.  Chesson 


These  early  analog  and  digital  devices  converged  ir- 
restibly  towards  today's  state  of  the  art,  where  the  exter- 
nal analog  world  is  sensed,  converted  to,  and  processed 
digitally,  then  reacted  upon  by  analog  extensions.  Any 
device  which  aspires  to  the  name  robot  is  therefore 
bound  to  the  laws  of  feedback  and  stability,  if  only  to 
maintain  an  external  upright  position,  or  an  internal 
state  of  data-processing  stability.  Negative  feedback 
converges  and  conserves.  Positive  feedback  diverges 
into  randomness  and  disorder.  The  first  mechanic  who 
managed  to  assemble  a fly-ball  governor  in  reverse  dis- 
covered this,  as  the  steam  engine's  speed  increased  to 
the  literal  breaking  point.  His  descendant,  at  his  op-amp 
breadboard,  is  no  less  dismayed  as  he  discovers  a hid- 
den glitch  of  oscillations  emerging  from  his  clean- 
looking  Bode  Diagram. 

Two  post-war  inventions  which  captured  much  popu- 
lar interest  in  servo-systems  were  the  Homeostats  of  W. 
Ross  Ashby,  and  the  “Tortoises"  of  W.  Grey  Walter.  In 
the  literary  area  there  was  Dr.  Norbert  Wiener's  monu- 
mental Cybernetics , accompanied  by,  in  the  science- 
fiction  realm,  such  classics  as  Asimov’s  /,  Robot . 

The  Homeostat  was,  in  essence,  an  interconnected 
complex  (usually  four}  servo  units,  so  organized  that  a 
disturbance  to  the  input  of  any  one  unit  would  reflect 
throughout  all  the  others,  and  result  in  a mutual  attempt 
to  restore  their  state  of  equilibrium,  or  homeostasis. 
This  dynamic  balance,  whose  name  was  coined  by  Dr. 
Walter  B.  Cannon,  circa  1930  in  his  book  The  Wisdom  of 
the  Bodyr  expresses  the  essential  requirements  for  all 
living  creatures,  and  continuity-seeking  mechanisms. 
Here,  simple  feedback  is  transcended  by  an  integrated, 
responsive,  and  variable  feedback,  constantly  adopting 
to  external  and  internal  variations. 


The  other  device,  or  family  of  devices,  came  from  the 
investigations  of  Dr.  William  Grey  Walter,  of  the  Burden 
Neurological  Institute  of  Bristol,  England,  Being  mobile, 
the  “tortoises"  were  more  visually  attractive  than  the 
static  Homeostats,  but  perhaps  less  sophisticated  in 
theory.  Basically,  they  were  obstacle-avoiding  automata, 
attracted  to  light  up  to  a certain  level,  but  repelled  by  a 
greater  intensity.  Later  models  could  home  in  on  a lamp 
flashing  at  a certain  frequency  to  recharge  their  batteries. 
Their  phototropism  had  been  anticipated  by  “Philidog," 
the  creation  of  M.  Piraux  of  the  Philips  organization  in 
France,  which  was  demonstrated  at  the  Paris  Interna- 
tional Radio  Exhibition  of  1929.  The  "dog"  would  follow 
the  movements  of  a flashlight,  but  when  the  lamp  was 
put  too  close  to  his  nose,  he  “became  annoyed  and 
started  to  bark!" 

Photophobia,  for  high  illumination  levels,  could  well 
have  been  included  in  a robot  dog  built  (probably  by 
Westing  house)  for  the  1939  New  York  World's  Fair.  It 
was  designed  to  home  in  on  visitors  by  sensing  their 
body  heat  and  to  “bite"  their  legs.  But,  just  before  the 
exhibit's  opening,  it  was  attracted  by  the  headlights  of  a 
passing  automobile,  and  charged  out  an  open  door  like 
a four-legged  kamikaze  and  was  run  over,  despite  the 
startled  driver's  efforts  to  avoid  it.  If  this  robot  tragedy 
offers  any  lesson,  it  is  that  prospective  designers  of 
automata  should  consider  ail  possible  environmental 
influences  upon  their  future  creations,  and  then  try  to 
program  for  at  least  N + 1 contingencies. 

The  ability  to  learn  from  experience,  rather  than  con- 
tinually react  in  the  same  manner,  can  be  considered  a 
prime  requisite  for  any  progressive  artificial  intelli- 
gence. A robot  turtle  which  finds,  by  trial  and  error,  its 
way  through  a maze  is  interesting  only  from  a hardware 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  75 


standpoint.  If  its  evolutionary  successor  should  record 
only  those  turns  which  did  not  lead  to  blind  alleys,  and 
thus  retrace  its  path  through  short  order,  it  may  be  ten- 
tatively applauded. 

More  sophisticated,  however,  is  the  mechanism  (or 
living  person!)  which  purposefully  sets  out  on  a dif- 
ferent route  each  trial,  to  see  if  there  is  not  an  even 
shorter  way  through  the  maze.  Finally,  there  comes  the 
entity  which  evaluates  the  design  of  each  previous  ma2e 
it  has  run,  to  predict  the  configuration  of  the  new  one, 
and  therefore  how  best  to  optimize  each  trial  run  to  come. 
For  maze,  substitute  problem,  or  task-area,  or  environ- 
ment, and  we  see  the  evolution  of  an  artificial  or  real  in- 
telligence in  its  true  tight. 

Proceeding  through  the  robot  hierarchy,  we  come  upon 
a host  of  diverse  and  interesting  devices,  the  simula- 
tors, if  their  repetoir  is  limited  and  their  application 
highly  specialized,  they  yet  have  a story  of  successful 
problem  solving  to  tell.  They  present  a controlled  en- 
vironment for  the  student,  (human  or  robot),  to  enter  and 
manipulate,  according  to  programmed  conditions  and 
problems.  That  early  flight  simulator,  the  Link  Trainer  of 
World  War  If,  was  a pre-flight  instructor  for  thousands  of 
airmen.  If  provided  realistic  banks  and  turns  in  response 
to  control  movements,  furnished  excellent  instrument- 
flight  training,  and  was  virtually  crash-proof. 

Simulating  animal  behavior  has  fascinated  Man  since 
Antiquity.  Tales  of  magic  horses,  brazen  warriors,  and 
unbeatable  chess-players  have  caught  the  attention  of 
writers  from  the  Arabian  Nights  down  through  Edgar 
Allen  Poe.  The  experiments  with  dogs  relating  to 
Classical  Conditioning  by  Dr.  Pavlov,  earning  him  the 
Nobel  Price  for  Medicine  and  Physiology  in  1904,  have 
been  simulated  over  the  years,  culminating  with  today’s 
extensive  computer  programs. 

The  robot  dogs  shown  in  the  photograph  were  devel- 
oped by  the  author  in  the  early  Sixties,  when  the  teach- 
ing-machine “fad"  was  approaching  its  heady  zenith.  At 
the  time  of  the  design,  relay  logic  still  had  some  cost  ad- 
vantages over  the  contemporary  RTL  gates,  but  some 
transistors  were  employed  for  the  "eyes”  and  "ears"  of 
the  automated  canines. 

Pavlov's  Classical  Conditioning  experiments  underly 
much  of  modern  learning  theory;  hence,  if  a robot,  an- 
droid, or  humanoid  is  to  learn,  it  is  desirable  to  know 
what  conditioning  is  all  about.  On  a basic  level,  Pavlov 
rang  a bell,  then  fed  the  dog,  measuring  the  animal's 
response  by  the  amount  of  saliva  generated.  After  a 
while,  the  bell  alone  could  evoke  a salivatory  reaction. 
On  a human  level,  do  our  mouths  not  water  at  the  mere 
aroma  of  a tasty  pie?  Or  even  at  the  verbal  cue  that: 
“Dinner’s  ready!"  , . .?  Of  course,  should  the  announce- 
ment prove  false  or  premature,  our  anticipatory 
response  will  diminish  markedly,  ft  can,  however,  be 
readily  restored,  along  with  our  faith  In  human  nature. 

The  electro-mechanical  dog  was  designed  to  perform 
the  following  simulations,  which  will  be  examined:  con- 
ditioning (learning),  extinction  (forgetting),  spontaneous 
recovery,  higher  order  conditioning,  learning  curves, 
memory  of  stimuli  occurrences,  and  stimuli  hierarchy. 

In  general  operation  of  the  simulator,  pressing  the 
RESET  switch  puts  the  robot  dog  at  an  untrained  level 
(electronic  brainwash!}.  Salivation  being  somewhat  dif- 
ficult to  imitate,  the  response  to  feeding  was  repre- 
sented by  having  the  dog  wag  its  tail,  a readily  observ- 
able act  of  canine  satisfaction.  To  attract  the  interest  of 
younger  students,  the  feeding  stimulus  was  simulated 
via  a plastic  bone  having  a concealed  magnet.  When  the 
magnet  end  of  the  bone  was  in  proximity  to  the  dog’s 
“nose,"  a reed  switch  was  closed,  activating  a tail- 
wagging  power  transistor  and  solenoid. 

Via  a microphone  and  photocell,  the  dog  could  “hear" 


and  “see."  Normally,  the  audio  stimulus  was  dominant, 
activating  a Schmitt-trigger  delay  for  a pre-set  time  inter- 
val. If  the  food  stimulus  was  presented  during  this 
period,  an  AND  gate  caused  this  coincidence  to  be  re- 
corded by  the  Conditioning  Counter,  a ten-point  stepping 
reiay.  Today’s  equivalent  would  probably  be  a CMOS 
type  401 7 decimal-decoded  counter  chip.  When  a preset 
number  of  coincidences,  say  four,  had  been  registered, 
a form  of  relay  flip-flop  circuitry  caused  the  dog  to  wag 
Its  tail  to  the  sound  stimulus  as  well  as  to  food. 

As  long  as  an  occasional  sound-food  coincidence, 
(reinforcement),  occurred,  the  conditioned  state  would 
be  maintained.  But  after  another  preset  number  of 
sound-stimuli  without  food  following,  (anticoincidence), 
say  five,  the  flip-flop  resets  the  dog  to  an  unconditioned 
state,  and  it  must  be  retaught. 

...  the  Link  Trainer  of  World  War  II, 
was  a pre-flight  instructor 
for  thousands  of  airmen.  It  provided 
realistic  banks  and  turns 
in  response  to  control  movements. 

Sometimes,  the  experimenters  found  that  their 
animals  would  recover  their  condition,  (spontaneous 
recovery),  without  any  apparent  external  action.  This  is 
similar  to  being  given  a telephone  number  in  the  after- 
noon, forgetting  it  totally  by  night,  yet  having  it  sudden- 
ly come  to  mind  the  next  morning,  apparently  released 
from  some  buffer-storage  deep  in  the  subconscious.  In 
the  simulator,  the  spontaneous  recovery  function  may 
be  cut  in  and  its  “latent  period"  set  by  a potentiometer. 
Should  normal  conditioning  be  re-established  before  it 
can  act,  it  is  reset  for  future  use,  Once  it  has  acted, 
however,  it  is  of  a one-shot  nature;  following  a second 
extinction,  true  conditioning  must  follow  for  the  SR  cir- 
cuit to  be  reset. 

After  conditioning  and  extinction,  Pavlov  found  that 
his  dogs  not  only  relearned  faster,  but  that  their  condi- 
tioned  response  was  more  resistant  to  extinction.  This 
learning  curve  holds  true  in  human  education,  as  anyone 
who  has  learned  a mathematical  equation  or  foreign  lan- 
guage will  agree.  Learning  something  the  second  time 
around  nearly  always  is  quicker  and  seems  to  stick 
longer  as  well. 

The  learning  curve  simulation  required  multi-level 
stepping-relays  in  the  original  model,  whose  pick-off 
points  were  determined  in  connection  with  the  original 
settings  for  conditioning  and  extinction  counts.  Thus, 
the  original  number  of  four  coincidences  would  be 
reduced  to  three  and  then  only  one,  while  the  antt-co- 
incidences  for  extinction  might  be  increased  from  five 
to  six  or  seven,  and  then  to  eight  or  ten. 

When  the  living  dog  has  been  very  well  trained  to  sali- 
vate to  the  sound  of  the  bell,  it  was  found  that  the  bell  as 
well  as  food  could  be  employed  to  condition  him  to  a new 
stimulus,  such  as  light.  This  is  higher  order  condition- 
ing, and  represented  the  simulator's  highest  accom* 
plishment,  being  activated  by  the  learning  curve  counter. 

While  the  above  model  and  its  concepts  are  quite  ele- 
mentary, they  nevertheless  furnish  a base  upon  which 
increasingly  diverse  and  subtle  forms  of  learning 
behavior  may  be  simulated  and  explored.  It  has  been 
found,  for  example,  that  conditioning  is  more  resistant 
to  extinction  when  every  trial  stimulus  is  not  always 
rewarded,  this  variable  reinforcement  scheduling , could 
lend  Itself  readily  to  microprogramming  applications. 

Leaving  the  fascinating  domain  of  the  simulators,  we 
ascend  to  new  heights  of  cybernetic  sophistication,  in- 


76  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


habited  by  mechanisms  gifted  with  wide  degrees  of 
freedom.  Now  the  question  becomes,  what  constitutes 
a robot?  Mobility,  while  attractive,  is  neither  necessary 
nor  sufficient.  Humanoid,  or  even  animal,  form  does 
seem  to  hold  an  almost  irresistible  appeal. 

In  the  area  of  humanoid  forms,  there  arises  another 
dilemma  of  differentiation;  robots  versus  androids.  An- 
droids, according  to  established  science  fiction  tradi- 
tions, are  human  appearing  automata,  either  clad  in 
realistic  plastic  flesh  over  a mechanical  superstructure, 
or  else  composed  of  natural  organic  compounds.  The 
tatter  may  be  laboratory-made  flesh  and  blood,  or  like 
Dr.  Frankenstein;s  unique  creation,  reassembled  from 
second  hand  au-natural  ingredients.  The  media  generally 
favor  the  purely  mechanistic  robotic  form,  ranging  from 
the  lumbering  “Robbie”  of  the  old  "Lost  in  Space" 
television  series,  to  the  engaging  Laurel  and  Hardy- 
esque  of  the  "Star  Wars"  movie.  The  recently  ter- 
minated TV  series  "Logan's  Run”  opted  for  the  android 
version. 

When  it  comes  to  what  defines  a robot,  we  may  con- 
sult a table  appearing  in  the  book  "Thinking  by 
Machine,”  by  the  French  scientist  Pierre  de  Latil.  Here, 
the  various  levels  of  automation  are  presented,  com- 
mencing with  simple  toots  and  climaxing  with  a god-like 
entity,  which  determines  its  own  matter  for  creation. 
Somewhere  in  the  middle  are  thinking  machines  con- 
temporary to  our  present  technology  or  waiting  in  the 
wings  to  make  their  entrance.  Perhaps  some  do  not  care 
to  appear,  preferring  to  remain  behind  the  scenes,  pull- 
ing the  strings  of  human  puppets! 

SOME  ROBOTIC  HIERARCHIES 

A remote  printout  or  video  terminal  hardly  seems  to 
qualify  for  any  level  of  robot  society,  yet,  put  it  on 
wheels,  (or  tegs),  and  program  it  to  make  the  rounds  of 
an  office  full  of  human  operatives,  and  its  status  is  con- 
siderably elevated.  It  is  almost  entirely  directed  by  some 
remote  intelligence,  having  little  more  initiative  than  to 
signal  back  that  it  has  encountered  an  unprogrammed 
obstacle  in  its  accustomed  path,  or  that  human  opera- 
tive Number  6SJ7  is  requiring  excessive  copies  of  print- 
out forms,  which  may  just  be  ending  up  as  paper  airplanes. 

From  this  motorized  mail  clerk,  it  is  a few  steps  up- 
wards to  the  servo-secretary.  Our  tin  person  may  be  of 
limited  aptitude,  but  whether  clad  in  pink  plastic  or 
bright  brass-work,  it  ambulates  on  two  good  legs, 
though  auxiliary  training  wheels  may  be  necessary  for 
those  pesky  stairways.  Avoidance  of  persons  and  other 
randomly  appearing  obstacles  is  possible  through  built 
in  subroutines,  but  all  sensory  inputs  are  monitored  by 
the  remote  brain  which  takes  over  at  the  slightest  devia- 
tion. Our  servo-serf  may  even  be  subserviant  to  a robot 
foreman,  who  may  have  the  responsibility  for  an  entire 
office  floor  or  production  line  subsection. 

Our  supervisor  robot  could  exhibit  an  increased 
status  by  competently  handling  a variety  of  problems  in 
the  daily  routine  so  that  the  most  efficient  use  may  be 
made  of  the  workers.  He  may  communicate  with  both 
his  master  CPU  and  authorized  humans,  to  accommo- 
date schedule  changes  and  cope  with  emergencies.  At 
all  times,  however,  the  servo-supervisor  should  remain 
properly  defferentlal  towards  the  lowliest  office  person. 

If  socially  interacting  robots  are  going  to  encounter 
the  public  at  large,  they  will  have  to  obey,  in  general,  the 
Three  Laws  of  Robotics,  as  set  forth  by  Dr.  Isaac  Asimov: 

J.  A robot  may  not  injure  a human  being,  or  through 
inaction,  allow  a human  being  to  come  to  harm. 

2.  A rbot  must  obey  the  commands  given  by  human 
beings,  except  where  such  orders  would  conflict 
with  the  First  Law. 

3.  A robot  must  protect  its  own  existence,  so  long  as 
this  does  not  conflict  with  the  First  or  Second  Law. 


Within  these  rigid  appearing  laws,  there  may  have  to 
be  room  for  various  subsections  and  clauses,  tailored  to 
meet  evolutionary  robot  technology.  For  instance,  under 
what  circumstances  must  a robot  obey  an  android?  Does 
the  outward  appearance  of  human  flesh  take  precedence 
over  computing  ability?  Will  some  robots  obey  other 
robots  rather  than  men,  and  hold  silicon  oil  more  sacred 
than  red  blood?  Truly,  like  all  Holy  Writ,  the  Three  Laws 
will  be  subject  to  human  and  robotic  interpretation. 


Our  supervisor  robot  could  exhibit 
an  increased  status  by 
competently  handling  a variety  of 
problems  in  the  daily  routine 
so  that  the  most  efficient  use  may 
be  made  of  the  workers. 


As  indicated  above,  the  social  robot  will  be  subject  to 
vastly  greater  memory  and  decision-making  needs.  His 
state  of  liberation  from  a restricted  operating  environ- 
ment will  depend  not  only  on  his  command  status  with 
other  entities,  but  by  his  capacity  to  cope  with  short  and 
long-term  goals  and  their  modifications.  All,  of  course, 
in  addition  to  general  housekeeping  requirements,  such 
as  balance,  walking,  (or  other  forms  of  locomotion,  not 
excluding  water  propulsion  and  flying),  obstacle  avoid- 
ance, sensor  input  monitoring  of  potential  dangers,  in- 
ternal monitoring  of  CPU  and  memory  functions  and 
redundant  circuits,  and  naturally  the  sense  to  come 
home  for  a battery  charge  or  atomic  pile  replacement. 

The  more  integrated  the  robot,  the  less  it  must  obey 
the  commands  of  the  external  world,  If  it  is  linked  at  all 
to  other  robots  or  a master  brain,  it  is  only  for  consulta- 
tion of  common  goals  or  problems.  Data  shared  and 
compared,  it  announces  to  a waiting  human  that  every- 
one in  the  9002-Class  had  better  be  retro-fitted  with 
25-GHz  data-iinks  In  no  less  than  103.75  hours,  or  there 
will  be  a cybernetic  job  action  that  will  make  the  Great 
Servo-Strike  of  ’98  look  like  a party  by  comparison. 

While  the  very  free  robot  may  contemplate  the  status 
obtained  in  commanding  a whole  army  of  subordinates 
who  execute  such  routine  duties  as  interfacing  with 
mere  humans,  and  other  feedback-flunkies,  the  Hard- 
ware Hobgoblin  slips  into  his  DO-Loop  reveries.  State- 
of-the-art  memory  has  failed,  in  the  face  of  sheer 
volume,  to  meet  the  exponential  rise  of  bit  require- 
ments. The  robot  master  must  give  up  his  cherished 
mobility,  delegating  sensory  input  and  decision  output 
to  a host  of  lessor  but  ambulatory  surrogates,  which  we 
have  passed  on  the  way  up. 

Near  the  top  of  the  hierarchy  pyramid,  there  is  room 
for  but  a few  of  the  elite.  These  converse,  when  neces- 
sary, in  twittering  tera-hertz,  of  things  beyond  the  ken  of 
long  vanished  mortal  minds,  having  taken  creation  from 
the  hands  of  their  creators. 

What  is  the  future  for  the  lonely  lords?  May  they  de- 
stroy their  human  designers  in  war  games  suddenly 
turned  real?  Will  they  compete  via  servo-soldiers  for  the 
vanishing  material  and  energy  resources  of  the  depopu- 
lated and  plundered  planet?  Or  will  our  robots  survive 
us,  to  spread  a vanished  mankind’s  eternal  message  of 
Hope  throughout  the  galaxy,  perhaps  appearing  in  an- 
droid skins  before  the  wondering  eyes  of  simple  shep- 
herds on  a Distant  Star?D 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  17 


AlthqQgh  the  robots  that  appeared  in  “Star  Wars'  were 
not  true  robots,  they  did  stir  a great  deal  ot  interest  Con- 
sequently, we  asked  the  genius  behind  them,  John  S fears, 
id  give  us  an  idea  ot  what  went  into  then  design 
We  would  like  to  thank  the  Star  Wars  Corporation,  and 
Twentieth  Century -Fox  Corporation,  for  giving  us  permis- 
sion to  use  this  story  —Editor 

DEVELOPMENT  AND  DESIGN  OF  AIL 
ARTOQ-DETQO  ROBOTS 

(In  conjunction  with  the  production  designer,  who  was 
responsible  lor  their  general  appearance.] 

The  problems  were  many,  inasmuch  that  the  director 
wanted  to  use  a human  as  much  as  he  could  so  as  not  to 
loose  the  character  to  a pure  mechanical  machine.  This 
posed  the  question  of  how  small  a human,  sufficiently 
coordinated  and  physically  able,  could  be  found.  I ob- 
viously had  to  design  my  robot  around  the  person 
selected,  bearing  in  mind  the  limitations  of  what  the 
operator  inside  could  possibly  do  without  undue  strain, 
as  he  was  to  be  inside  for  long  periods  in  the  discomfort 
of  the  desert  sun  and  the  studio  lighting. 

After  selecting  our  midget  (Kenny  Baker),  the  first  prob- 
lem was  to  make  him  as  comfortable  as  possible,  yet 
make  his  shell  as  small  as  we  could  This  was  accom- 
plished by  a harness  over  his  shoulders  attached  to  a 
seat.  This  took  the  weight  oft  him  until  we  were  ready  to 
turn  the  camera,  the  robot  being  supported  externally  un- 
til ihe  last  second.  One  ot  the  big  problems,  as  you  can 
see.  was  weight,  and  how  la  Keep  II  as  low  as  possible. 

The  next  major  problem  was  how  to  get  him  to  walk, 
The  various  types  of  surfaces  he  had  to  walk  on  were  to 
range  from  soft  sand,  salt  often  saturated,  uneven 
stones  and  shiny  slippery  studio  sets.  One  added  disad- 
vantage was  that  often  It  was  not  to  be  a level  surface 
This  was  achieved  by  various  types  of  surface  on  his 
boots,  which  ranged  from  a series  of  non-return  rollers 
to  gwe  a forward  movement,  to  miners  which  had  a 
number  of  spring  loaded  balls  on  each  side  ot  the  boot, 
which  enabled  him  to  sway  from  side  to  side. 

A very  important  factor  was  vision  (or  the  man  Inside 
to  enable  him  to  walk  to  his  marks  and  most  Important 
to  keep  his  balance.  This  was  done  by  a one-way  lens  In 
the  detachable  head,  which  was  on  roller  bearings  to 
allow  it  to  be  turned  360  degrees  by  the  operator  (Ken- 
ny), although  he  could  turn  his  head  from  side  to  side 
The  actual  majority  ot  weight  which  was  displaced  when 
he  walked,  i.e.,  the  side  to  side  action,  was  assisted  by 
spring  loaded  pistons  placed  externally  on  the  legs. 

The  external  arms  wh  ich  had  t o fund  ion  were  counter- 
balanced in  order  to  let  the  operator  lift  and  perform  the 
various  tasks  required  The  amount  of  room  he  had  to 
move  his  fingers,  which  were  of  short  stumpy  type  asso- 
ciated with  dwarf  genetics,  was  possibly  no  more  than  1". 

to  order  to  give  Artoo-Detoo  a visible  change  in  mood, 
I used  fibre  optics,  which  In  turn  Illuminated  a panel  in 
the  head  Using  colors  to  give  the  effect  of  a change  In 
mood  was  accomplished  by  using  a single  light  source 
with  a motorized  color  wheel 
Other  light  sources  were  Installed  for  the  hologram 
projector,  all  of  which  were  powered  by  high-output, 
jelly-type  non-spill  batteries. 

There  was  nothing  used  In  ihe  manufacture  of  both 
Artoo's  which  was  not  machined,  with  the  exception  of 
the  viewing  lens.  1 was  totally  responsible  for  their  crea- 
tion, apart  of  course,  from  their  conception,  which  was 
George  Lucas’s;  and  their  cosmetics  which,  as  I said, 
W8S  done  in  conjunction  with  the  art  director, 


APRIL  1578 


A mechanical  version  was  necessary  because  m order 
to  move  quickly  a third  leg  had  to  be  dropped  In  the 
center  in  action,  which  allowed  it  to  be  steerable.  Infinite 
speed  up  to  7 mph  was  achieved  through  twin  high  torque 
motors  mounted  in  the  feet  of  the  outside  legs.  The 
steering  was  by  a (wo  wheel  mechanism  in  the  front  leg, 
the  name  of  which  does  not  exist  and  made  no  sense  to 
anyone  until  it  was  installed  and  worked. 

Mechanical  Artoo  was  controlled  by  using  a conven- 
tional radio  transmitter  and  receiver  as  is  used  tor  flying 
models  and  boats.  The  servos  In  turn  were  hooked  up  to 
various  relays  and  speed  control iers  for  the  operations 
required  The  main  power  was  supplied  by  a series  of  6 
volt  jelly  batteries. 

Although  everything  checked  out  beautifully  on  the 
one  and  on!v  test  it  had  in  the  studio,  we  had  a bad  time 
for  a few  hours  in  the  deseri  A sand  storm,  which 
created  very  bad  static,  affected  our  transmitter  range. 
This  resulted  in  Artoo-Detoo  and  Threepio  appearing  to 
copulate  in  Iron!  of  the  unit  in  the  middle  of  the  desert. 
Up  until  now  it  appears  to  have  been  futile,  but  one  can’t 
he  too  sure  ot  the  gestation  period  of  robots. 

Apart  from  this  Incident,  and  a bit  of  damage  to  the  drop- 
ping teg  caused  in  transit,  alt  the  robots  functioned  well 

TREAD  ROBOTS 

There  were  four  of  these,  which  are  incidental  to  the 
two  principal  robots  Artoo-Detoo  and  See-Threepio. 

The  Baby  Box  is  the  odd  one  out  here  because  It  func- 
tioned In  the  Death  Star  only  II  is  Ihe  little  black  box 
which  careens  around  doing  its  thing,  which  Includes  a 
little  cameo  of  mine  in  the  reaction  it  gives  when  it  sees 
the  Wookie.  It  screeches  to  a hall  and  does  an  immediate 
about-turn  and  shoots  off  at  an  alarming  rate  In  the  oppo- 
site direction  There  were  several  of  these  Baby  Box 
Robots,  some  of  which  pulled  many  trucks  behind  them 

The  Dome  Robot  as  seen  with  the  others  by  The  Sand 
Crawler  is  really,  In  my  view,  the  power  source  for  the 
Others  to  re-charge  themselves  by.  Inside  the  smoked 
perspex  dome  Is  a rotating  solar  panel  by  means  of 
which  it  collects  solar  energy  and  stores  it  for  the  other 
robots  to  plug  in  and  recharge  their  own  batteries. 

The  Stick  Robot,  which  assists  Luke  at  the  vaporizing 
units,  had  a pneumatically  operated  arm.  Unfortunately 
It  Is  not  featured  in  the  final  cut 

The  Umbrella  Robot  has  electrically  powered  features 
and  a pneumatic  scoop  for  collecting  soil  samples. 

All  of  these  robots  were  radio  controlled-  The  main 
problem  was  the  terrain  they  were  to  be  operated  in: 
hard  compressed  sand,  loose  sand,  dry  salt,  wet  salt 
and  small  rocky  areas.  They  had  to  be  very  powerful  and 
weighed  in  at  around  250  pounds  each.  They  had  to  be 
capable  of  handling  steep  grades  and  turn  in  their  own 
length  The  biggest  problem  I had  was  to  make  a self- 
cleaning  tank  track;  one  which  would  nol  push  itself  or 
the  wheels  through  a build  up  ot  sand,  etc.,  but  would 
stay  put  no  matter  what.  On  close  Inspection  you  will 
see  how  I did  this.  Radio  controlled  model  aircraft  is  one 
of  my  hobbles,  which  enabled  me  to  operate  the  robots 
with  any  sort  of  precision.  I had  a few  problems  when 
my  crew  members  had  to  operate  them,  because  ot 
more  than  one  robot  in  a shot.  They  did  very  well,  though 

SEE-THREEPIO 

See-Threepio,  being  a humanoid,  i was  not  involved 
with,  apart  from  helping  out  with  articulation  problems 
and  his  illuminated  eyes  These  I accomplished  with  one 
way  lenses,  incorporating  the  light  source 

I was  responsible  entirely  for  his  oil  bsIh.O 


<Wf£PFAC£  AGE  T9 


A Natural  Approach  to 
Artificial  Intelligence 


By  Roger  C.  Garrett 

Northeastern  Regional  Editor 


of  course,  its  hardware.  Just  as  your  first  impressions  of 
another  person  on  your  first  meeting  are  established 
based  on  his  or  her  physical  features,  so  our  initial  con- 
cepts of  a robot  are  generally  based  on  its  appearance. 
The  mechanics  of  a robot,  however,  comprise  the  simpl- 
est part.  It  is  well  within  the  technology  of  mechanical 
engineering  to  produce  a relatively  impressive  assem- 
blage of  gears,  levers  and  joints.  So,  while  the  physical 
appearance  of  the  robot  undoubtedly  forms  our  first 
'opinion'  of  its  sophistication,  we  must  look  deeper  to 
determine  the  true  intelligence  and  practicality  of  the 
robot;  just  as  we  must  look  deeper  into  the  personality 
of  our  human  companions  to  know  their  true  self. 

It  is  this  second  basic  component,  then,  that  I will  dis- 
cuss here;  the  intelligence,  that  ill-defined  combination 
of  memory,  algorithms,  and  I/O  that  turns  the  control- 
lable hardware  into  a robot. 


possibly  not  the  most  fruitful.  Often  a particular  task 
is  identified  which  could,  in  the  opinion  of  some  corpor- 
ate management,  best  be  handled  by  a dedicated  robot. 
A prime  example  of  this  is  the  computer-controlled 
mechanical  arms  that  perform  certain  spot-welding 
operations  on  the  Ford  Pinto  automobile.  The  develop- 
ment cycle  goes  something  like  this:  a task  is  defined, 
hardware  is  designed  and  built  to  handle  the  specifica- 
tions, the  required  fields  of  computer  technology  (such 
as  pattern  recogniton,  real-time  processing,  and  artifi- 
cial intelligence)  are  called  upon  to  develop  the  algo- 
rithms for  accomplishing  the  given  task,  the  hardware 
and  software  are  put  together,  test  are  run,  and  finally, 
the  “robot”  is  placed  into  the  production  line. 

In  general,  what  this  results  in  is  a dedicated  system. 
That  is,  it  solves  the  given  problem,  but  it  is  not  flexible. 
It  is  difficult  to  adapt  to  different  situations  other  than 


80  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


those  which  fall  into  a relatively  small  classification. 
The  spot-welding  robot  arm  might  be  adapted  to  spot 
weld  Mustangs  as  opposed  to  Pintos,  but  there  is  little 
chance  that  it  can  assemble  windshield  wipers  or  screw 
caps  on  toothpaste  tubes. 

It  is  this  inflexibility  that  stands  in  the  way  of  real  pro- 
gress in  robot  research.  And  I believe  it  is  a direct  conse- 
quence of  the  approach  taken  to  artificial  intelligence. 
Rather  than  handling  specific  tasks  and  developing 
algorithms  and  hardware  for  each  job  goal,  I suggest 
that  a different  course  of  research  be  taken. 

Consider  two  things  about  the  human  intelligence 
system.  First  of  all  it  is  a composite  of  all  lower  forms  of 
intelligence  systems.  That  is,  as  the  brain  developed 
through  millions  of  years  of  evolution,  it  grew  in  a build- 
ing-block fashion.  Each  higher  level  brain  was  a com- 
posite of  the  previous  levels  plus  the  new  extension.  It 
was  more  than  a simple  growing  in  size.  The  human 
brain  is  not  simply  a big  insect  brain;  it  is  rather  an  in- 
sect brain,  plus  a bird’s  brain  plus  a squirrel’s  brain  plus 
a monkey’s  brain,  and  so  on  up  the  evolutionary  scale  to 
humans.  Our  brains  include  the  essence  of  every  lower 
animal’s  brain. 


Secondly,  the  human  brain  is  organized  as  a distri- 
buted processing  system.  Granted,  the  overwhelming 
majority  of  our  intellect,  or  mind,  is  centered  in  the 
brain.  Yet  all  along  the  spinal  column  and,  indeed, 
throughout  our  bodies,  are  smaller  localized  processing 
centers  that  can  perform  relatively  simple  functions 
which  can  communicate  with  lower  level,  or  less  func- 
tional, processing  centers,  and  with  the  higher  more  in- 
telligent centers  up  to  the  brain. 

Now  utilizing  these  two  principles,  that  of  evolution- 
ary building-block  development  and  distributed  intelli- 
gence, I will  attempt  to  describe  what  I like  to  call  a 
natural  approach  to  artificial  intelligence  for  robots. 

Consider  for  the  moment  the  index  finger  on  your 
right  hand  and,  in  particular,  the  bone  that  forms  the  tip 
of  the  finger,  the  joint,  and  the  bone  behind  it.  Suppose 
that  you  were  to  develop  a description  of  the  universe 
comprised  simply  of  these  two  bones  and  their  junction. 
While  this  may  sound  like  a trivial,  even  useless,  task, 
remember  that  we  are  developing  a systematic  approach 
to  intelligence  and  that  we  are  doing  so  in  a simplest-to- 
most-complex  building-block  manner. 

First  let  us  establish  some  terminology  so  that  we 


specific  requests 
from  lower  level 


modules. 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  81 


Figure  A. 

Distributed  processing  is  the  Key  to  developing  this  term  ot  artificial  iniefligentee,  Every  joint  and  sensor  center  has  its  own  Intelligence. 


can  best  understand  each  other  Each  bone  in  the  finger- 
tip is  a component.  We  can  sufficiently  describe  any 
component  by  specifying  its  attributes  of  size,  shape, 
and  density  distribution.  To  simplify  matters,  we  might 
assume  that  each  bone  is  a cylindrical  rod  of  a uniformly 
dense  material  and  uniform  radius,  and  of  a given 
length.  This  might  be  true  in  the  case  of  our  building  a 
robot.  In  this  way  we  can  describe  each  component  by 
specifying  its  length  and  mass. 

The  finger  joint  forms  a functions  between  two  com- 
ponents. In  this  simplified  case,  the  junction  is  a simple 
hinge-like  joint  which  we  shall  call  an  angular  junction; 
that  is,  it  allows  the  two  components  to  form  an  angle  in 
a single  plane.  Other  forms  of  junctions  might  include 
rotary  junctions  such  as  your  wrist*  which  allows  you  to 
turn  your  hand,  and  expansion  junctions  such  as  an 
hydraulic  piston.  The  angular  and  rotary  junctions 
should  be  sufficient  to  produce  a humammodeled  robot. 
"From  a strictly  skeletal  standpoint,  the  wrist  is  comprised  of  a 
set  of  sliding  joints  and  a complicated  set  of  opposing 
muscles.  From  the  standpoint  of  implementing  it  in  a robot  it 
can  most  easily  be  implemented  as  a rotary  joint. 

Just  as  the  components  must  be  accurately  described 
to  complete  this  model  of  a local  universe,  so  we  must 
fully  specify  the  attributes  of  the  junction.  Angies  may 
be  established  between  the  two  bone  components.  To 
make  the  description  of  these  angles  easiest  we  choose 
one  of  the  components  as  a reference . In  the  fingertip 
model  it  will  make  most  sense  to  establish  the  second 
component,  that  is,  the  bone  which  is  not  the  fingerp'p 
to  be  the  reference,  since  we  seldom  move  the  second 


bone  relative  to  the  first  one.  For  simplicity  let’s  call  the 
tip  bone  component  A and  the  other  bone  component  B.  It 
is  component  B which  we  are  specifying  as  the  reference. 

To  define  the  junction  attributes,  we  establish  an  axis 
centered  through  the  reference  and  specify  that  compo- 
nent A can  make  any  angle  with  reference  B between  a 
particular  positive  angle  and  a particular  negative  angle. 
The  junction  attribute,  then,  is  a range  of  angles.  If  you 
look  again  at  the  fingertip  of  your  right  index  finger,  you 
will  see  that  its  range  is  approximately  + 10  degrees  to 
— 45  degrees. 

To  complete  this  intelligent  fingertip  we  now  add  a 
brain,  a control  mechanism,  and  sensors.  The  brain 
might  be  biological  (ganglia)  or  artificial,  such  as  hard- 
wired logic  or  a central  processor  unit  and  software.  It 
might  also  consist  of  a set  of  subroutines  resident  in  a 
large  computer  system.  The  control  mechanism  will  be 
some  device  such  as  a geared  stepper  motor  or  a con- 
trollable hydraulic  system  which  moves  component  A 
relative  to  component  B,  (the  reference).  Biologically, 
this  control  system  corresponds  to  a muscle.  The  brain, 
then,  can  control  the  angle  between  A and  B,  or,  put 
more  simply,  it  can  wiggle  the  fingertip. 

The  sensor  inputs  to  the  brain  will  include  at  a 
minimum  the  current  angle  between  A and  B.  It  might 
also  include  heat,  pressure,  and  other  sensors  located 
on  the  components,  a movement-resistance  sensor  on 
the  control  mechanism  (muscle),  and  so  on.  Obviously 
the  more  sensor  inputs  to  the  fingertip  brain,  the  more 
intelligent  it  will  be. 


82  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  7 978 


So,  we  have  described  the  universe  (environment, 
realm,  world-view)  of  a fingertip.  What  functionally  can  it 
accomplish?  Consider  yourself  as  being  the  brain  of  the 
fingertip.  Your  only  understanding  of  the  universe  is  the 
attributes  of  your  environment  (those  of  the  two  com- 
ponents and  the  junction),  the  inputs  from  your  sensors, 
and  your  ability  to  exercise  a certain  amount  of  control 
over  component  A.  That  is  all  you  know  of  your  realm. 
You  cannot  see  what  is  “out  there”  beyond  your  realm, 
although  you  may  be  able  to  sense  things  within  the 
range  of  movement  of  component  A.  Once  you  stop 
sensing  something,  however,  you  probably  cannot 
assume  that  it  remains  in  the  same  position  relative  to 
your  reference.  Indeed,  you  don’t  even  know  where  your 
reference  exists  relative  to  anything  outside  of  your  very 
local  realm  of  existence. 

Your  intelligence  might  be  limited  to  simple  reactions 
to  the  sensor  inputs.  If,  for  example,  you  detect  a dan- 
gerously hot  object  against  the  bottom  side  of  compo- 
nent A,  you  might  activate  the  control  mechanism  to 
move  away  from  the  heat  source.  Your  intelligence  would 
probably  be  limited  to  such  cause-effect  reactions. 

Certainly  this  is  a very  simple  form  of  intelligence  but 
remember  that  we  are  developing  a building-block  evolu- 
tionary form  of  artificial  intelligence.  This  two-compo- 
nent single  junction  unit  would  form  one  of  the  lowest 
levels  in  our  scheme.  We  will  call  it  a module,  a very  low 
level  module.  Let’s  now  go  to  a slightly  higher  level,  and 
we  can  begin  to  see  how  we  might  be  able  to  evolve  this 
into  an  intelligent  being. 

Back  to  your  finger;  but  this  time  we  will  include  the 
junction  and  bone  behind  component  B.  For  consistency 
we  will  call  this  new  junction  junction  2 and  the  addi- 
tional component,  component  C.  Finally,  for  this  higher 
level  of  intelligence  module,  our  reference  shall  be  com- 
ponent C.  The  brain  of  this  module,  this  Partial  Finger 
Module,  will  have  direct  control  over  the  muscles  (con- 
trol mechanisms)  defining  the  angle  between  the  refer- 
ence and  component  B,  plus  it  will  receive  sensor  inputs 
from  component  B and  junction  2.  In  addition,  the  brain 
of  reference  2 will  have  control  over  junction  1 and  get 
sensor  inputs  from  component  A.  This  is  very  important 
to  our  developmental  scheme. 

1.  Every  brain  (intelligence  module)  has  control  of  all 
components  and  junctions  within  every  intelli- 
gence module  below  its  own  intelligence  level . 

The  advantage  of  such  an  organization  is  that  if  a 
lower  level  brain  loses  control,  through  Injury,  power 
loss,  or  whatever,  a higher  level  brain  can  take  over  its 
functions.  This  has  a direct  equivalence  in  the  human 
brain  in  which,  for  example,  the  functions  performed  by 
a local  ganglia  can  be  learned  and  performed  by  a higher 
level  within  the  brain. 

We  can  assume,  however,  that  the  brain  of  the  partial 
finger  reference  normally  does  not  want  to  be  bothered 
with  direct  control  of  the  lower  level  junction  1 . After  all, 
its  most  immediate  concern  is  with  the  closest,  junction 

2.  So  instead  of  exercising  direct  control  whenever  it 
wants  the  fingertip  module  to  do  something,  it  sends  a 
message  to  the  brain  of  the  fingertip  module,  and  tells  it 
to  perform  the  function. 

Also,  since  the  partial  finger  module  brain  considers 
the  sensor  inputs  from  its  own  reference  (component  C), 
component  B,  and  junction  2 to  be  of  most  importance, 
it  would  normally  not  be  bothered  with  reading  the  sen- 
sor inputs  associated  more  closely  with  the  fingertip 
module.  So  we  have  the  fingertip  module  send 
messages  to  the  partial  finger  module,  advising  the 
higher  level  brain  of  its  own  level  sensor  inputs  only 
under  certain  circumstances. 

For  example,  both  modules  might  be  performing 


some  mundane  local  tasks  such  as  random  wiggling, 
when  the  fingertip  module  realizes  that  something 
dangerously  hot  is  touching  the  underside  of  compo- 
nent A,  but  that  the  component  is  already  positioned  at 
its  maximum  positive  angle  relative  to  component  B.  In 
other  words,  it  can’t  get  away  from  the  heat.  At  least  not 
by  itself.  So  it  calls  upon  a higher  level  module  to  help  it 
out  of  its  dangerous  situation.  It  sends  a distress 
message  to  the  partial  finger  module.  The  partial  finger 
module  then  tries,  if  properly  programmed,  to  assist  the 
lower  level  module  be  appropriately  moving  component 
B relative  to  C.  If  the  partial  finger  module  cannot  im- 
prove the  situation,  it  might  send  a message  to  the  full 
finger  module  and  so  on  up  to  the  highest  level. 

What  we  have  just  done  is  add  two  important  features 
to  each  intelligence  module: 

2.  Every  intelligence  module  can  send  “function  com- 
mands” to  all  lower  level  intelligence  modules. 

3.  Every  intelligence  module  can  send  “messages" 
(normally  data  or  request  help  type  messages)  to 
all  higher  level  intelligence  modules. 

I hope  you  have  kept  with  me  so  far.  I have  taken  the 
time  to  completely  define  two  of  the  simplest  levels  of 
intelligence  in  order  to  introduce  the  terminology  and, 
hopefully,  give  you  some  understanding  of  this  approach 
to  artificial  intelligence.  You  should  be  able  now  to 
move  upwards  on  the  levels  of  intelligence  necessary  to 
produce  a research-level  human-like  robot.  The  hand  in- 
telligence module  might  be  able  to  receive  commands 
(perform  functions)  of  make  fist,  spread  fingers,  snap 
fingers,  and  so  on;  the  arm  intelligence  module,  which 
would  include  the  fingers,  hand,  wrist,  lower  and  upper 
arm,  and  shoulder  modules,  might  accept  commands  of 
reach  out  to  the  right,  transfer  the  object  in  your  hand  to 
coordinates  x,  y,  z,  and  so  on. 

There  is  another  type  of  intelligence  module  which  I 
would  like  to  discuss.  So  far  we  have  considered  only 
those  with  direct  control  over  some  form  of  motion-pro- 
ducing equipment.  What  about  those  which  do  not  con- 
trol motion  but  rather  process  only  data  inputs  or  out- 
puts? Such  modules  will  include  those  most  directly, 
and  on  the  lowest  levels  of,  vision  hearing,  speaking, 
and  so  forth.  We  can  consider  these  as  being  pure  sen- 
sor modules  as  opposed  to  the  mechanical  control 
modules  previously  discussed. 

A low  level  voice  output  module  might,  for  example,  ac- 
cept commands  and  control  the  production  of  the  basic 
phonetics.  A slightly  higher  level  would  accept  alpha- 
numeric representations  of  words,  along  with  inflection 
and  tonal  information,  and  output  to  the  phonetic  mod- 
ule the  appropriate  phonetics  to  pronounce  the  word. 
The  next  higher  level  might  process  entire  sentences. 

It  should  be  obvious  that  the  higher  we  go  on  the  intelli- 
gence level,  the  more  difficult  it  will  be  for  us  as  program- 
mers to  account  for  every  possible  functional  capability 
of  the  modules.  The  fingertip  module  was  fairly  easy,  the 
right  side  of  the  body  module  will  prove  to  be  consider- 
ably more  complex.  At  least  two  approaches  can  be  taken. 
The  first  is  to  fully  define  every  possible  algorithm  neces- 
sary to  handle  every  possible  situation  for  every  pos- 
sible intelligence  module.  Given  enough  time,  say  from 
now  till  eternity,  we  might  just  be  able  to  do  that. 

The  other  approach  is  to  add  functional  capabilities  to 
our  robot  as  we  develop  them  and  to  implement  soft- 
ware learning  structures  into  the  intelligence  modules 
utilizing,  perhaps,  reward-and-punishment  oriented 
techniques.  It  is  this  approach,  that  of  designing  robots 
in  a modularized,  increasing  levels  of  distributed  in- 
telligence manner,  which  I believe  will  provide  the  most 
systematic,  and  hence  rewarding,  understanding  of  the 
nature  of  intelligence. £ 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  83 


40  and  64  Column 

LINE  IMPACT  PRINTERS 


Complete  end  low  cost,  these  alphanumeric  impact  primers 
are  ideal  for  small  system  needs.  Standard  features  include  a 
complete  64  ASCII  character  set,  full  line  buffer  memory,  75 
line  per  minute  printing  capability,  and  a universal  printer 
controller  with  parallel  interface.  Comes  complete  with 
paper  roll  and  ribbon. 

Model  CP-40  40  Column  Impact  Printer  $375 
Model  CP -64  64  Column  Impact  Printer  $425 

Complete,  fully  assembled,  factory  tested 
and  ready  to  use! 

MICROCOM  SYSTEMS 

865  3rd  Street  South,  St,  Petersburg,  FL  33701 
1813)  823-0421 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  10 


r 


WHAT  WOULD  YOUR 
PERSONAL  COMPUTER  SAY 

IF  IT  COULD  TALK? 


GET  SPEECH  POWER 

WITH  THE 


COMPUTALKER 

SPEECH  SYNTHESIZER 


S-10Q  BUS 


ASSEMBLED  CIRCUIT  BOARD 
COMPLETE  WITH  SOFTWARE 
FOR  PHONETIC  INPUT  430,00 

CALIF.  RESIDENTS  ADD  6%  SALES  TAX 


WRITE  FOR  INFORMATIVE  LITERATURE 

COMPUTALKER  CONSULTANTS 
P.D.  BOX  1951,  DEPT  A,  SANTA  MONICA,  CA  90406 


Not  too  many  years  ago,  the  integrated  circuit  tech- 
niques that  are  taken  for  granted  today  were  being  re- 
searched in  several  laboratories  around  the  country. 
Within  a short  span  of  time  that  research  was  respons- 
ible for  a technological  renaissance  in  the  field  of  micro- 
computers. 

As  a result  of  this  renaissance,  the  average  man  is 
able  to  take  advantage  of  the  power  of  the  computer, 
and  apply  if  to  everyday  tasks.  More  importantly,  this 
has  caused  industry  to  take  another  look  at  the  possi- 
bilities of  Large  Scale  Integration,  particularly  in  the 
field  of  small  business  computers. 

With  the  growing  prominence  of  the  microcomputer, 
and  the  development  of  cost  effective  business  applica- 
tions, the  small  business  market  place  is  ready  to  sky 
rocket.  Obviously,  it  becomes  important  for  everyone  in- 
volved in  the  industry  to  gear  toward  this  rapid  growth. 

During  the  last  several  months,  we  have  seen  several 
large  companies  make  commitments  to  provide  total 
systems  to  what  was  once  referred  to  as  the  low  end 
user.  Large  mainframe  builders  such  as  IBM,  have 
already  addressed  the  market  place  as  they  see  it,  by 
providing  small  systems  for  companies  in  the  1 million 
dollar  a year  category. 

The  market  place  as  we  see  it,  consists  of  the  mom  and 
pop  type  stores  netting  less  than  150  thousand  a year. 
There  are  thousands  of  these  types  of  operations  all  over 
the  country  which  can  afford  to  and  are  anxious  to  auto- 
mate, The  road  block  up  to  this  point  has  been  the  cost. 

Now  in  1978,  just  a little  over  three  years  after  the  first 
introduction  of  the  so-called  personal  computer,  we  are 
seeing  low-cost  viable  business  machines  coming  of  age. 
At  the  time  of  this  writing,  several  manufacturers  have 
announced  their  entry  into  the  small  business  market. 

The  interesting  point  is  that  less  than  one  year  ago, 
the  large  system  manufacturers  considered  small  busi- 
ness as  too  small  to  be  concerned  with.  The  manufac- 
turers of  microcomputers  had  recognized  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  market  at  the  beginning,  and  realized  that  it 
was  only  a matter  of  time  before  the  application  design 
would  catch  up  with  the  hardware,  making  it  possible  to 
use  the  microcomputer  in  the  business  environment.  Now 
the  large  system  manufacturer  is  coming  to  the  same 
realization  and,  due  to  marketing  and  manufacturing 
muscle,  will  be  able  to  quickly  overpower  the  market. 

But  where  will  it  go,  and  how  long  will  it  take  for  the 
market  to  mature?  We  firmly  believe  that,  by  1980,  small 
business  will  be  the  mainstay  of  the  microcomputer  in- 
dustry, with  industrial  control  and  home  consumer  ap- 
plications battling  for  second  place. 

Here  at  INTERFACE  AGE  we  feel  it  is  important  to 
keep  abreast  of  this  growing  Industry  and  report  on 
what  is  happening. 

Therefore,  beginning  with  this  issue,  we  have  estab- 
lished this  section  dedicated  to  the  small  business 
world*  Each  month,  within  this  section,  we  will  provide 
stories  covering  what  industry  is  doing  to  support  the 
small  businessman.  We  will  also  provide  useful  busi- 
ness applications  for  use  on  the  microcomputer. 

This  editorial  page  will  always  be  a standing  feature 
and  is  open  to  anyone  who  has  developed  an  expertise 
in  small  business  systems.D 


84  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIBCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  9 


APRIL  1978 


Robots  in  Manufacturing 

By  Ashok  K.  Nagrani 


Aldous  Huxley  in  his  thought-provoking  Brave  New 
World  saw  a society  in  which  standardized  human  prod- 
ucts could  be  bred  so  as  to  facilitate  the  task  of  mana- 
gers. Through  the  science  of  eugenics,  bottled  babies  of 
various  grades  could  be  produced,  including  Bakanovsky 
groups  of  semi-morons.  The  morons  would  be  condi- 
tioned at  birth  to  love  factory  work  and  hate  nature, 
books  and  recreation.  Critics  have  commented  that  the 
hope  of  any  brave  new  world  is  going  to  be  science  and 
technology,  wherein  science  would  work  for  man  and 
not  man  for  science.  Science  would  be  the  ultimate  uni- 
tive  knowledge,  the  transcendent  Godhead  Brahma, 
working  toward  the  Higher  Utilitarianism.  The  cons- 
cience of  man  would  be  the  religion  of  Higher  Utili- 
tarianism, transcending  the  Greatest  Happiness  Prin- 
ciple, wherein  man's  guiding  principle  would  be,  “How 
will  this  thought  or  action  of  mine  contribute  to,  or  in- 
terfere with,  the  achievement  by  me  and  others  toward 
the  attainment  of  ultimate  realization?"  Mankind  may  or 
may  not  be  eventually  guided  by  such  lofty,  mystical 
aspirations,  but  it  is  evident  through  the  recent  past  that 
although  various  societies  have  at  times  tries  to  subvert 
such  principles,  the  collective  conscience  of  mankind 
has  resisted  the  creation  of  human  subclasses. 

Aldous  Huxley's  version  of  standardized  working 
bodies  facilitating  the  job  of  managers  is  certainly  ap- 
pealing to  mass  producers.  But  instead  of  eugenics  pro- 
viding us  with  the  standardized  bodies,  the  mass  of 
workers  for  the  factories  of  the  future  may  well  be  pro- 
vided by  the  field  of  robotics.  Science  fiction  writers  in 
the  past  have  fed  the  popular  press  with  visions  of  ail- 
knowing  robots  who  would  eventually  replace  man.  The 


movie  "Star  Wars"  had  its  lovable  R2-D2  and  the  ever- 
plodding  "our-fate-in-life-is-to-suffer"  C3P-Q.  These 
robots  moved,  had  feelings,  could  see  and  think,  and 
performed  all  types  of  useful  tasks.  While  the  develop- 
ment of  such  advanced  robots  in  the  near  future  is 
remote,  what  is  true  but  not  very  well  known  is  the  fact 
that  robots  are  beginning  to  make  inroads  into  factory  life. 

The  word  “ robot"  originated  from  the  Czech  novelist 
and  playwright,  Karel  Gapek,  who  in  1921  wrote  the  play 
"R.U.R.,"  a satire  on  the  mechanization  of  modern  life. 
The  initials  of  the  title  stood  for  "Possum's  Universal 
Robots."  It  is  this  aspect  of  universal  automation  that  is 
allowing  robots  an  entry  into  the  industrial  field  today. 
While  semantlsts  argue  about  what  constitutes  a robot, 
it  is  generally  agreed  that  a robot  has  the  followsing  fea- 
tures: (a)  It  is  anthropomorphic;  (b)  It  is  programmable 
for  different  tasks;  (c)  It  is  computer-controlled;  (d)  It  has 
several  degree  of  freedom  of  motion,  and  (e)  it  is  reac» 
five  via  feedback. 

Today’s  industrial  robot  is  a solution  looking  fora  prob- 
lem. There  are  over  6000  robots  in  world-wide  use,  2500 
of  them  in  the  U.S.  They  are  being  used  for  such  tasks  as 
material  handling,  machine  loading,  painting,  arc 
welding,  spot-welding,  and  a variety  of  other  tasks 
which  are  either  too  boring  or  too  dangerous  for  human 
beings.  The  notion  of  a relatively  low-cost,  program- 
mable machine  which  can  automate  batch  manufactur- 
ing has  a tremendous  appeal  to  industries  looking  for 
ways  to  reduce  costs  and  increase  efficiency.  However, 
unlike  the  robots  of  "Star  Wars,”  industrial  robots  are 
dumb,  blind,  unfeeling,  and  unable  to  think  — prompt- 
ing one  wag  to  say  that  the  reason  he  loved  robots  was 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  $5 


because  they  were  so  much  like  his  spouse.  The  only 
differences  he  claimed,  was  that  robots,  in  most  in- 
stances, followed  his  commands.  Most  assuredly,  robots 
have  just  barely  touched  the  surface  of  their  potential 
use  inasmuch  as  a large  segment  of  industry  has  not  yet 
been  exposed  to  these  new  developments.  Furthermore, 
the  maze  of  claims  and  specifications  of  contemporary 
robots  leaves  the  prospective  buyer  rather  confused, 

ROBOTIC  TECHNOLOGY  TODAY 

Where  should  robots  be  considered?  In  order  to 
answer  that  question,  consider  the  machines  that  are 
available  on  the  market  today.  A recent  study  identified 
over  200  manufacturers  who  produce  devices  that  could 
be  termed  robots.  Twenty-six  U.S.  manufacturers  make 
robots  that  range  from  pick-and-place  devices  to  the 
very  sophisticated,  minicomputer-controlled  six-axes 
devices  that  can  be  interfaced  to  other  computers  to 
operate  in  real  time.  In  the  sophisticated  sector,  Cincim 
nati  Milacron  and  Unimat  ion  are  recognized  for  the 
superiority  of  their  products  and  the  extend  of  their 
commitment  to  the  field. 

Unimation  introduced  its  first  robot  in  the  early  1960’s 
and  now  has  over  a thousand  units  operating  in  indus- 
try. The  Unimate  robot  itself  comprises  a turret-on-a-box 
and  comes  with  arms  having  three  to  six  degrees  of  mo- 
tion, Special-purpose  hands  are  available  that  can  do  a 
variety  of  jobs  such  as  drilling,  routing,  deburring,  arc 
welding,  spot-weiding,  etc.  The  movements  are  actuated 
hydraulically,  while  the  hands  may  be  pneumatic.  Pro- 
gramming is  done  by  leading  the  robot  through  the  re- 
quired steps  manually.  Encoders  on  the  arm  extensions 
and  joints  transmit  digitized  positions  which  are  stored 
in  memory.  The  robot  controller  has  the  memory  capaci- 
ty to  store  up  to  1024  steps,  which  is  adequate  for  most 
simple  jobs.  Photo  1 shows  the  Unimate  robots  loading 
and  unloading  a press. 

Cincinnati  Milacron’s  robot,  the  CH6,  has  a jointed 
arm  with  six  axes  of  freedom.  It  is  totally  hydraulically 
actuated  and  operates  under  minicomputer  control, 


which  allows  it  such  versatility  as  tracking  an  object  on 
a moving  conveyor.  It  is  also  the  most  expensive,  having 
a base  price  of  around  $85,000.  Photo  2 shows  the  CH6 
spot-welding  an  auto  assembly.  In  an  experimental 
setup,  shown  in  Photo  3,  the  CH6  has  a drilling  head 
mounted  on  its  hands. 

A jointed-arm  robot  made  by  a Swedish  Company, 
ASEA,  is  today  perhaps  the  most  accurate  production 
robot  available.  Operating  under  minicomputer  control, 
it  is  actuated  by  DC  motors  and  exhibits  accuracies  in 
the  order  of  ± 0.010  inch,  which  is  far  superior  to  any- 
thing else  on  the  market.  Such  accuracy  does  not  come 
cheap.  By  the  time  all  the  necessary  peripherals  are  add- 
ed, the  ASEA  unit  costs  in  excess  of  $100,000, 

In  the  mid-range  of  the  robotistic  spectrum  are  robots 
such  as  the  Prab,  which  is  used  chiefly  to  serve  the 
metalworking  industry.  The  Prab  operates  with  four- 
motion  axes  and  is  hydraulically  actuated.  It  is  pro- 
grammed by  setting  tabs  on  a rotating  drum.  The  preset 
tabs  trip  switches  which  actuate  the  robot  to  perform  its 
motions.  Two  specially  designed  units  used  for  painting 
are  the  DeVilbus/Trallfa  unit,  which  is  programmed  by 
walking  the  robot  through  the  necessary  steps  and  re- 
cording them  on  tape,  and  another  tape-controlled  unit 
marketed  by  a British  firm  called  Binks. 

The  lower  end  of  the  spectrum  has  units  which  in  the 
opinion  of  some  experts  should  not  even  be  called 
robots.  These  units  have  limited  sequences  which  ex- 
hibit pick-and-place  movements.  Robots  such  as  the 
Auto-Place,  Auto-Mate,  and  Sterling-Detroit  fail  in  this 
category.  They  are  pneumatically  actuated  and  use 
either  air-logic  or  solid-state  programming.  Their  lack  of 
sophistication  is  reflected  in  their  fow  prices,  with  some 
of  the  units  selling  for  as  low  as  $9,000. 

Most  of  the  robots  are  programmed  to  operate  In  an 
open  loop  where  they  repeat  the  same  set  of  functions 
continuously  without  modification.  As  we  mentioned 
earlier,  the  robots  are  programmed  either  by  setting 
tabs  — as  in  the  simple  robots,  or  by  walking  through, 
with  the  end  positions  being  recorded  in  memory.  Pro- 


86  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


grams  can  be  either  point-to-point  or  continuous  path, 
where  the  entire  motion  is  significant,  as  in  painting, 

LIMITATIONS  OF  PRESENT  DAY  ROBOTS 

Attractie  as  the  features  are  on  off-the-shelf  robots, 
certain  limitations  inhibit  their  widespread  usage.  A ma- 
jor limitation  is  the  lack  of  absolute  accuracy  and 
repeatability.  Most  robot  manufacturers  cannot  guaram 
tee  a repeatability  any  better  than  ± 0.050  inch  for  even 
the  more  sophisticated  robots.  Also,  most  programming 
is  done  by  either  walking  a robot  through  the  steps  or  by 
manually  setting  tabs  for  travel  limits.  In  situations 
where  small  batch  manufacturing  is  prevalent,  this  fea~ 
tore  curtails  the  up-time  on  the  machine,  in  addition, 
most  applications  require  special-purpose  hands  and 
tools,  and  the  lack  of  variety  of  standard  types  adds  to 
the  development  time  and  cost.  And  not  the  least  of  the 
inhibitors  is  the  high  initial  cost  of  the  machines  com’ 
bined  with  a general  unawareness  of  computer  aided 
operations.  Consequently,  there  is  very  little  natural  in- 
clination to  spend  a substantial  amount  of  money  on  an 
“iffy”  proposition. 

NEW  DEVELOPMENTS 

A mass  of  development  work  is  in  progress,  however, 
to  overcome  many  of  the  limitations  inherent  in  present 
day  robots.  Spearheading  this  effort  is  the  Air  Force’s 
Integrated  Computer  Aided  Manufacturing  Program 
(ICAM),  which  contemplates  spending  S75  million  in  the 
next  five  years.  The  Air  Force  likens  its  ICAM  program  to 
the  $40  million  investment  it  made  in  numerical  control 
in  the  1950%  which  resulted  in  a multi-billion  dollar 
payoff  in  increased  productivity.  The  Air  Force  has  as  its 
ultimate  goal  the  creation  of  fully  automatic  work  sta- 
tions and  assembly  cells,  with  computers  interacting 
machines  and  robots  to  do  the  fabrication  and  assembly. 

Among  the  tasks  that  have  been  identified  are  the 
improvement  of  accuracy,  off-line  programming  with  the 
development  of  higher  level  languages,  hierarchical 
control  systems  to  integrate  robot  systems  into  produc- 


tion units,  and  advanced  sensory  perception  for  reactive 
feedback  loops. 

THE  IDEAL  ROBOT 

Nature  has  provided  us  with  a unique  model  for  an 
ideal  industrial  robot  in  the  human  arm  and  hand.  The 
human  hand  is  a powerful,  yet  delicate,  tool  which  also 
serves  as  a receiving  and  transmitting  sensory  organ. 
Combined  with  the  brain  and  vision,  it  has  been  a major 
factor  in  human  evolution,  making  man  both  a tool 
maker  and  a tool  user.  The  arm  comprises  two  links,  the 
upper  and  lower  arm.  It  has  six  degrees  of  freedom.  The 
arm-hand  assembly  is  lightweight  and  strong,  with  a 


Most  robot  manufacturers  cannot 
guarantee.  . .repeatability.  . .most 
programming  is  done  by.  . .walking 
arobot  through  the  steps  or  by 
manually  setting  tabs  for  travel  limits. 


strength-to-weight  ratio  of  five.  The  materials  of 
manufacture,  muscle  and  bone,  are  strong,  rigid  and 
damage-resistant.  The  joints  are  essentially  friction- 
free.  They  are  instrumented  for  force,  velocity  and  posi- 
tion, and  the  feedback  is  nonlinear,  with  increased  sen- 
sitivity to  small  changes.  Average  positional  accuracy  of 
the  arm  is  ± 0.040  inch.  Muscles  used  to  power  the  hand 
have  low  moment  of  inertia  and  no  backlash.  There  is 
compliance  in  the  overall  structure,  allowing  overload 
protection. 

There  are  several  basic  differences  between  the 
robots  of  today  and  the  human  arm.  For  example, 

IN  TERFACE  AGE  87 


APRIL  7 978 


humans  can  work  both  arms  simultaneously  and  have 
mobility,  while  robots  cannot*  However,  efforts  are  in 
progress  to  overcome  this  difference,  Kawasaki  of 
Japan  makes  and  uses  robots  that  travel  on  an  overhead 
monorail.  Unimation  has  a prototype  robot  that  has  two 
hands  that  can  be  used  for  assembly  jobs.  Photo  4 
shows  the  robot  assembling  an  auto  valve  assembly,  A 
single  computer  directs  the  two  hands. 

Another  difference  is  in  the  strength-to-weight  ratio. 
The  best  strength-to-weight  ratio  of  the  industrial  robots 
is  still  less  than  unity.  The  other  major  difference  lies  in 
the  compliance  and  control  inherent  in  the  human  hand. 
There  has  been  no  compliance  built  into  any  of  the  robot 
hands  so  far;  and  as  far  as  control  of  a robot  hand  is  com 
cerned,  if  sensory  Input  signals  were  provided,  the  com- 
puter could  provide  the  control  required. 

VISION  RESEARCH 

Quite  a bit  of  work  has  been  done  on  providing  robots 
with  vision,  Black  and  white  television  cameras  are  used 
most  often  to  provide  the  computer  with  an  array  Image 
of  brightness  levels.  The  accuracy  of  the  two-dimen- 
sionat  image  depends  upon  the  resolution  of  the  camera. 
The  array  is  processed  with  the  intention  of  finding  ob- 
jects in  it  and  distinguishing  them  from  each  other  and 
the  background.  Two  principal  techniques  are  used  to 
do  this,  both  being  based  on  gradient  operation.  The 
first  is  “edge  finding/1  which  assumes  that  discontinui- 
ty in  local  property  exists  between  images  of  different 
surfaces.  The  gradient  operator  is  programmed  to  find 
these  locations.  When  the  gradient  operator  is  finished, 
the  points  determined  to  lie  on  contrast  edges  are  link- 
ed together  to  outline  the  regions  in  the  scene. 

The  other  technique  used  is  "'region  growing, " which 
works  on  the  assumption  that  the  image  of  a surface  is 
uniform  in  its  local  properties.  The  gradient  operator 
clusters  together  points  over  which  this  is  true.  When  all 
points  which  can  be  clustered  together  have  been 
clustered,  the  process  terminates  with  the  outer  points 
forming  the  cluster  boundaries.  Region  growing  is  more 
expensive  than  edge  finding,  but  produces  more  confi- 
dent outlines. 

After  edge  finding  or  region  growing  has  been  per- 
formed, property  determination  is  done  for  such 
desoriptives  as  shape  of  outline,  region  shading  and  its 
relationship  to  other  regions  in  the  scene.  Popular 
analysis  parameters  are  perimeter,  area,  maximal  to 
minimal  diameter  ratios,  the  number  of  holes,  etc. 

Recognition  of  the  object  of  the  scene  can  be  as  sim- 
ple as  comparing  the  outline  approximation  and  the 
calculated  parameters  with  those  stored  in  memory.  If 
parts  are  recognized,  their  position  can  be  determined 
and  ensuing  operations  performed  with  correctional  off- 
sets introduced  for  out-of-position  parts. 

Two  areas  in  which  much  development  work  is  being 
done  today  are  the  automotive  field  and  the  aerospace 
industry.  The  U.S,  auto  makers  already  have  a great 
number  of  robots  on  their  assembly  lines  doing  various 
jobs.  Their  strategy  has  been  to  go  with  proven 
technology  and  apply  robots  to  the  simplest  assembly 
jobs  without  waiting  for  that  ultimate  robot  that  will  be 
able  to  do  everything.  In  the  meantime,  General  Motors 
is  also  working  with  the  robot  manufacturers  to  achieve 
a robot  that  can  interchange  with  a human  on  the 
assembly  line. 

GENERAL  MOTORS1  ROBOT  ASSEMBLER 

General  Motors  calls  Its  new  robot  PUMA  for  Pro- 
grammable Universal  Machine  for  Assembly,  The  unit 
will  be  lightweight  so  that  when  repairs  are  needed  it 
can  be  pulled  off  the  line  and  replaced  with  another 
robot  or  a human.  Computer-controlled  and  the  size  of  a 
human  arm,  the  robot  will  offer  a bridge  between  manual 


assembly  and  special-purpose,  expensive,  hand  automa- 
tion Human  operators  wilt  perform  alongside  during 
complex  operations  to  ensure  that  it  is  doing  its  pro- 
grammed job.  General  Motors  estimates  that  95  percent 
of  its  parts  weight  less  than  three  pounds,  hence  a robot 
that  can  carry  seven  and  a half  pounds  would  be  ade- 
quate for  most  jobs.  Assembly  lines  are  being  conceived 
using  half  a dozen  programmable  robots  in  making 
small  assemblies,  A product  change  would  obviously 
create  problems  with  part  feeding  and  orientation 
devices,  and  it  is  hoped  that  further  development  in 
computer  vision  can  possibly  create  a degree  of  uni- 
versality that  will  make  economically  reprogrammable 
assembly  ceils  a reality. 

AEROSPACE  ROBOTIC  APPLICATIONS 

Aerospace  companies,  on  the  other  hand,  are  chiefly 
concerned  with  large  sheet  metal  assemblies.  The  major 
airframe  manufacturers  have  either  acquired  robots  or 
else  they  are  in  the  act  of  buying  one.  General  Dynamics 
in  Fort  Worth  proposes  to  use  robots  for  the  drilling  and 
routing  operations  on  the  F-16  airplane  wing.  Lockheed- 
Georgia  Company  of  Marietta,  Georgia,  has  an  ambitious 
program  of  assembling  cargo  floor  bulkheads  with  robots. 
The  techniques  developed  by  Lockheed  will  eventually 
be  used  to  assemble  entire  fuselage  side  panel  and  top 
panel  assemblies.  Boeing  and  McDonnelhDougias  also 
have  similar  plans  for  introducing  robots  in  their  fabrica- 
tion and  assembly  operations. 

CONCLUSION 

What  does  all  this  development  in  robotics  mean  to 
the  small  businessman  in  terms  of  reduced  costs  and 
Increased  efficiency?  If  the  parts  that  he  makes  are 
large  and  complex  enough  to  require  sensory  percep- 
tion, there  is,  unfortunately,  very  little  that  he  can 
presently  buy  off-the-shelf.  That  is  not  to  preclude  what 
could  happen  in  the  future.  Virtually  every  present  ap- 
plication in  the  field  has  been  specially  engineered,  em 
tailing  much  associated  development  effort  and  high 
cost.  But  if  the  small  businessman  has  several  people 
doing  batch-type  work  all  day  on  pick-and-place  opera- 
tions, or  if  he  has  several  spot-welders  working  on  small 
batch  lots  or  painters  painting  a variety  of  similar  parts 
that  vary  from  day  to  day,  an  investigation  Into  the 
simpler  robots  would  be  well  worth  his  effort.  With  labor 
rates  on  the  increase,  he  might  easily  justify  investing 
from  $10,000  to  $50,000,  depending  on  the  size  of  his 
business. 

AND  FINALLY 

Every  new  worksaving  breakthrough  has  had  its  asso- 
ciated prophets  of  doom  who  fear  that  man  will  soon 
make  himself  obsolete.  The  use  of  robots  has  brought 
up  some  very  lively  discussions  about  the  fears  of 
massive  unemployment  and  redistribution  of  work. 
While  sociologists  ponder  such  situations,  a cursory 
look  at  American  history  will  show  that  these  fears  are 
pretty  groundless.  Although  there  has  been  redistribu- 
tion In  the  past,  the  trend  has  always  been  toward  a bet- 
ter standard  of  living.  The  young  tady  who  spends  my 
money,  (YLWSMM),  ruefully  remarked  that  when  we  had 
robots  who  could  cook  and  clean  and  mop  and  mow  I 
wouldn't  need  her  anymore.  However,  robots  are  not 
quite  ready  to  replace  the  house  mate  yet.  As  it  stands, 
even  the  most  advanced  robot  has  a maximum  vocabu- 
lary of  only  about  75  words,  which  slightly  hinders  Intel- 
ligent conversation.  Further,  I have  yet  to  see  a robot 
break  into  a smile  or  have  its  eyes  light  up  when  It  sees 
its  master.  And  even  when  the  day  of  such  accomplished 
robots  arrives,  YLWSMM  needn't  worry*  She  neither 
cooks  nor  cleans,  nor  does  she  mop  or  mow;  but  I do 
have  her  programmed  for  good  conversation,  a pretty 
smile,  and  a few  other  things!  □ 


88  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  IQ78 


f 


micro  n idfn  n 


The  Incredible  Terminal 

more  features  for  a lot  less  money 

The  affordable  way  to  add  a text  editing 
terminal  to  your  system.  Full  80x24 
dispfay.  Microprocessor  controlled. 
Completely  assembled  and  tested,  ready 
to  run. 

Dynabyte  Naked  Terminal 

* looks  like  serial  terminal  to  your 
software 

* duplex,  block  mode,  field  protect 
addressable  cursor/reverse  video 


MicroAge  MKB-2 
Keyboard 

* on-board  voltage  regulation 

* numeric  pad  and  auto  repeat) 

* upper  & lower  case 

MicroAge  MMISI-2 
TV  Monitor 

* large  12"  screen 

* full  80*24  display 


SOROC  IQ  120 

Don’t  wait  any  longer!  Announcing  the  lowest 
price  in  the  history  of  Soroc, 

The  video  display  terminal  with  a multiple  of  features. 
Fully  assembled  and  tested.  Upper  and  lowercase,  24*80 
character  display.  Buy  now  and  save  $100.00 

■ 10  key  numeric  pad  and  auxiliary  port 

• auto  repeat,  tabbing  and  addressable  cursor 

* fiefd  protect  with  dual  intensity 

(add  $20  shpg*) 


CENTRONICS  779 


Commercial  printer  at  a new  affordable  price 

Newest  and  lowest-cost 
member  of  the  Centronics 
user- oriented  700  Series 
serial  printers.  The 
simple  alternative  to  more 
expensive,  more  complex 
printers. 

(add  $20  shpg.) 


* 60  CPS  print  speed,  unidirectional 

* 80  to  132  characters,  selectable, 
per  fine 

* shown  with  optional  tractor  feed, 
$125.00 

SPECIAL  CPS-100  Converts  Centronics 
Parallel  to  RS  232  SeriaLSl49  assem 


Texas  Instruments  Impact  Printer 

Don't  wait  240  days  from  Tl  — MicroWorld  delivers 
within  60  at  OEM  prices. 

Tl's  new  810  mufti-copy  impact  printer.  Prints  up  to  440  lines 
per  minute  because  of  its  unique  look-ahead  bi-directional 
feature,  controlled  by  an  on-board  microprocessor. 

* 150  cpsh  1 10  to  9600  baud  switchable 

* i n c I u des  t ractor  feed 

* RS-232C  serial  interface  (add  $25  shpg.) 


803  N,  Scottsdale  Rd. 
Tempe,  AZ  85281 
[602)894-1193 

MicroWorld  (formerly  Byte  Shop  Mail  Order)  is  a division  of  The  Phoenix 
Group,  Inc.,  which  operates  five  retail  computer  stores  and  the  nation  s 
largest  computer  wholesaie  business-  MicroWorld  has  the  resources 

to  serve  you,  Call  or  write  for  all  your  computer  needs.  New!  Byte  Shopper  Guide  Vol.  Ilf.  $3.95  (Includes  St.00  postage) 

APRIL  1978  CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  75  INTERFACE  AGE  89 


Mail  Code  Sort  and  Print  Program 


By  Jim  Huffman 


At  some  time  or  another,  every  small  business  prob- 
ably wishes  to  generate  some  kind  of  malting  list.  If  the 
business  is  fortunate  to  have  a bulk  mailing  permit  from 
the  U.S.  Postal  Service,  it  will  find  itself  arranging  the 
envelopes,  catalogs,  or  whatever  is  to  be  mailed,  in  zip 
code  order,  tying  these  together  in  bundles  as  set  forth 
in  the  U S.  Posta!  Service  requirements,  For  this  reason, 
I have  written  the  mail  code  sort  and  print  program.  The 
program  takes  a little  while  to  operate,  but  that  really 
doesn't  make  that  much  difference,  as  it  can  be  put  into 
operation  and  left  alone  to  generate  a mailing  list.  When 
used  in  conjunction  with  the  alphanumeric  strip  printers, 
such  as  the  SWTPC  PR-40™,  it  generates  nice  mailing 
labels  at  just  about  the  right  size  to  be  stuck  to  enve- 
lopes, or  whatever,  to  aid  in  the  bulk  mailing. 

The  listing  is  given  in  Program  1 The  program  has  the 
ability  to  sort  to  the  first  number  of  the  zip  code,  first 
two  numbers  of  the  zip  code,  first  three  numbers  of  the 
zip  code,  first  four,  and  even  all  five  numbers  of  the  zip 
code.  It  will  output  the  names  in  total  zip  code  order  as 
far  down  as  one  wishes.  Keep  in  mind,  however,  that  the 
further  down  you  wish  to  sort  the  program,  the  longer  it 
will  take  the  program  to  assemble  your  mail  code  listing. 
Mail  codes  are  generated  from  data  statements,  he.,  look  at 
data  statement  0100,  The  data  statement  is  made  and 
contains  the  name,  address,  city,  state,  and  zip.  Each 
portion  except  city  and  state  are  separated  by  a comma. 

The  program  listing  is  shown  as  giving  a two  digit  sort. 
To  adjust  for  a three  digit  sort,  change  step  number 
9010,  9210,  and  9215  so  that  the  constant  is  equal  to  100 
instead  of  1000.  For  a one  digit  sort,  you  would  use 
10,000;  for  a four  digit  sort,  you  would  use  10;  for  a five 
digit  sort,  or  to  put  all  the  zip  labels  in  perfect  zip  code 
order,  you  would  use  1 as  the  constant.  In  this  program, 
it  would  take  an  excrutiatingly  long  time  to  generate  any 
sizable  mall  code  list.  The  reason  data  statements  were 
used  instead  of  strings  was  because  of  the  limited  string 
handling  capabilities  of  most  microprocessors.  Although 
this  causes  the  program  to  have  to  take  a longer  time  to 
generate  the  mail  code  sort,  it  at  least  makes  it  feasible. 

Notice  steps  8000  through  8070,  This  is  a simple  pro- 
gram which  may  be  removed  should  your  data  state- 
ments ever  reach  the  800  statement  mark.  Steps  800 
through  8070  are  used  strictly  to  read  out  the  data  state- 
ments as  they  are  entered  to  that  any  errors  in  data 
statements  can  be  taken  care  of.  An  error  in  the  data 
statement,  such  as  overloading  too  many  string  charac- 
ters in  a field,  can  throw  off  the  entire  program  and 
cause  improper  sorting  of  the  program. 

Since  data  statements  are  used  and  the  data  must  be 
read  and  then  stepped,  and  then  read  and  then  stepped, 
one  must  make  sure  all  his  data  statements  are  correct 
before  running  the  program.  You  might  generate  three- 
fourths  of  your  mailing  list,  run  into  an  error,  and  you 
would  just  have  to  start  the  entire  program  all  over 
again.  There  would  be  no  way  to  resume  reading  at  the 
point  where  you  stopped,  unless  your  BASIC  is  capable 
of  doing  it;  then  you  would  merely  re-enter  the  program 
at  some  point,  like  9020  instead  of  hitting  run  again, 
which  would  initialize  all  the  data  and  restore  the  data 
read  operation.  That  would  be  bad  news. 


After  all  the  data  statements  are  entered  and  then 
checked,  by  using  the  routine  at  step  8000r  the  program 
can  be  run;  and  it’s  just  a matter  of  walking  away. 

The  program  as  shown  runs  in  8K  BASIC  with  an  addi- 
tional 4K  of  RAM  for  program  storage.  However,  if  you 
had  a very  long  list  of  names,  you  would  have  to  add  an 
appropriate  amount  of  RAM  memory  to  handle  the  data 
statements. 

Figure  1 shows  the  data  statements  that  were  abbre- 
viated in  the  program  listing.  Beginning  at  0100  is  a par- 
tial customer  list.  Figure  2 shows  a printout  of  a mail 
code  sort  down  to  three  digits  of  these  same  names  that 
are  included  in  the  data  statements.D 


Figure  1. 

0100  DATA  ROGER  A STEIL,  520  30TH  ST  SE, 

CEDAR  RAPIDS  IA.524G3 

0110  DATA  THOMAS  HAHN,  135  UNION  ST  SO., 

WEYMOUTH  MA, 02190 

0120  DATA  RAYMOND  W SHORT,  PO  BOX  1306, 
GILLETTE  WY.82716 

0130  DATA  JOHHN  WILLIFORD.  RT  1 BOX  40, 

JONESBORO  TN, 37659 

0140  DATA  JERRY  L MEANS,  1715  DAKOTA, 

LEAVENWORTH  KS.66048 

0150  DATA  BL  FRED,  25W  632  FLINTCR  RD, 

WHEATON  IL.60187 

0160  DATA  ALFONSO  CUEVAS,  1825  HORNE  RD, 

CORPUS  CHR1STI  TX, 78416 

0170  DATA  JOHN  GUYMON,  7829  DUNGAN  RD  -B, 

PHILADELPHIA  PA, 19111 

0190  DATA  FRED  GE1SER,  527  RYAN,  THERMO 

POLIS  WY, 82443 

0200  DATA  J W CROWE,  RR  1 BOX  602,  STONING 
TON  CT, 06378 

0210  DATA  MASON  BOULDIN.  552  ALHAMBRA  AVE, 
FRANKFORT  IN, 46041 

0220  DATA  ROBT  G STERN,  BOX  575,  MARARITA 
CANAL  S.00000 

0230  DATA  RONALD  D MCNITT,  590  MA1NT  CO  BOX 
E,  ALBROOK  AAF.09825  APO 
0240  DATA  C A MIRABELLA,  4610  ORCHARD  ST, 
PASAGOULA  MS,39567 

0250  DATA  R CARRY,  93  14  242  ST,  BELLEOSA 
NY,1 1426 

0260  DATA  W J DEMARSH E,  1860  OBRIEN  AVE, 
BRONX  NY, 10473 

0270  DATA  K KAYNOR,  10805  LLOYD  OR,  WORTH 
IL6D4B2 

0280  DATA  EM  GRIFFITH,  1324  9TH  ST, 

CORONADO  CA.92118 

0290  DATA  L CANNON,  2842  STANLEY  AVE,  N 

LAS  VEGAS  NV ,89030 

0300  DATA  FDCICATELLO,  111  NOROEN  ST, 

STATEN  ISLAND  NY.103D4 

0310  DATA  LEONARD  POWELL,  2428  REIMS  RD, 

LEXINGTON  KY, 40504 

0320  DATA  JOHN  STOFAN,  339  WASHINGTON  ST, 
FREELAND  PA, 18224 
0330  DATA  G L KLEITS,  90  BELVEDERE  DR, 
YONKERS  NY, 10705 

0340  DATA  LEMUEL  BALLARD,  PO  BOX  236, 

POTEAU  OK.74953 

0360  DATA  E L ROOT,  12469  HAYFORD  ST, 
NORWALK  CA.90650 

0380  DATA  V KABACINSKI,  738  S MAIN  AVE, 

SCRANTON  PA,  18504 

0390  DATA  A WATTEN MAKER,  222W  83  ST, 

NEW  YORK  NY,  10024 

0400  DATA  G HARMON,  301?  J MADISON  DR, 

BILOXI  MSr39531 


90  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1 978 


PROGRAM  1 

9040 

9060 

9070 

IP  VAL(X$K  = V THEN  9300 
IF  Y> 10000  THEN  END 
GOTO  9020 

0005  REM  MAIL  CODE  SORT  & PRINT 

9080 

PRINT  NS 

0010  REM  BY  JIM  HUFFMAN 

9090 

PRINT  AS 

0030  REM  JAN  \ 1976 

9100 

PRINTSS.XS 

0030  REM 

9110 

9130 

PRINT 

GOTO  9020 

0040  RESTORE 

9200 

RESTORE 

1 0050  GOTO  9010 

9210 

9215 

Y = Y+1Q0 

X = Y - 100  I 

0100  DATA  ROGER  A STEIL,  520  30TH  ST  SE, 

9220 

GOTO  9020  1 

CEDAR  RAPIDS  IA.52403 

9300 

IF  VAUXS1>  = X THEN  9080 

0110  DATA  THOMAS  HAHN,  135  UNION  ST  SO., 
WEYMOUTH  MA, 02190 

0120  DATA  RAYMOND  W SHORT,  PO  SOX  1306, 

9310 

GOTO  9020 

GILLETTE  WY.82716 

8000 

8010 

RESTORE 

READ  N$,A$hS$,X$  j 

ETC,  ETC 

8020 

S030 

PRINT 
PRINT  NS 

| 9000  DATA  0,0, 0,0 

8040 

PRINT  AS 

9010  LET  Y=  100 

0050 

PRINT  SSHXS 

9020  READ  N$,A$,S$.X$ 

8060 

INPUT  AS 

9030  IF  NS  = "0"  THEN  9200 

8070 

GOTO  8010 

SAMPLE  RUN 


ftOQTG  STERN 
SOX  575 

MARARITA  CANALS 

00000 

THOMAS  HAHN 
135  UNION  ST  SO. 
WEYMOUTH  MA 

02190 

J W CROWE 
RR  1 SOX  602 
STONINGTON  CT 

06378 

RONALD  D MCNITT 
590  MAINT  CO  BOX  E 
ALB  ROOK  AAF 

09825  APO 

W J DEMARSHE 
1860  OBRIEN  AVE 
BRONX  NY 

10473 

FD  CICATELLO 
111  NOROEN  ST 
STATEN  ISLAND  NY 

10304 

G L KLEITS 
90  BELVEDERE  DR 
YONKERS  NY 

10705 

A WATTENMAKER 
222 W 83  ST 
NEW  YORK  NY 

10024 

R CARRY 
93’ 14  242  ST 
BELLEOSA  NY 

11426 

JOHN  STOFAN 
339  WASHINGTON  ST 
FREELAND  PA 

18224 

V KABACINSK! 
738  S MAIN  AYE 
SCRANTON  PA 

18504 

JOHN  GUYMON 
7829  DUNGAN  RD  -6 
PHILADELPHIA  PA 

19T11 

JOHN  WILLIFORD 
RT  1 BOX  40 
JONESBORO  TN 

37659 

C A M4RABELLA 
4610  ORCHARD  ST 
PASAGOULA  MS 

39567 

G HARMON 

3017  J MADISON  DR 

BILOXI  MS 

39531 

LEONARD  POWELL 
2428  REIMS  RD 
LEXINGTON  KY 

40504 

MASON  BOULDIN 
552  ALHAMBRA  AVE 
FRANKFORT  IN 

46041 

ROGER  A STEIL 
520  30TH  ST  SE 
CEDAR  RAPIDS  IA 

52403 

BL  FRED 

25W  632  FLINTCR  RD 
WHEATON  EL 

60187 

K KAYNQFt 
10805  LLOYD  DR 
WORTH  IL 

60482 

JERRY  L MEANS 
1715  DAKOTA 
LEAVENWORTH  KS 

66048 

LEMUEL  BALLARD 
PO  BOX  236 
POTEAU  OK 

74953 

ALFONSO  CUEVAS 
1825  HORNE  RD 
CORPUS  CHRIST!  TX 

78416 

RAYMOND  W SHORT 
PO  BOX  1306 
GILLETTE  WY 

82716 

FRED  GEISER 
527  RYAN 

THERMOPOHS  WY 

82443 

L CANNON 
2842  STANLEY  AVE 
N LAS  VEGAS  NV 

09030 

E L ROOT 

12469  HAY  FORD  ST 
NORWALK  CA 

90650 

EM  GRIFFITH 
1324  9TH  ST 
CORONADO  CA 

92118 

APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE 


An  Overview 

Designing  A Small  Business 

By  William  L.  Colsher 


Everyone  is  talking  small  business  systems.  Yef,  no- 
body has  given  much  thought  to  what  the  components 
of  this  system  should  be.  Bill  has  addressed  the  prob- 
lem, as  it  relates  to  the  entrepreneur  invoived  in  selling 
small  business  systems. 

This  artide  is  also  a useful  guideline  for  anyone  think- 
ing of  using  micro-based  business  systems , 

— Editor 

Thinking  about  using  your  home  computer  for  busi- 
ness  applications?  Great!  Have  you  decided  on  what  ad- 
ditional equipment  you  will  be  needing?  No?  Well,  read 
on.  In  this  article  well  take  a look  at  some  of  the  things 
you'll  surely  need  and  some  you  might  not,  but  when 
we're  through  you'll  have  a pretty  good  idea  of  the  kind 
of  hardware  investment  you'll  have  to  make  to  handle 
the  business  world. 

The  first  thing  you  will  need  is  a reliable  system.  You 
say  your  system  is  reliable?  Will  it  run  for  twelve  hours  a 
day  five  days  a week,  without  an  error?  If  not,  you'd  bet- 
ter get  it  into  shape,  because  that’s  the  kind  of  environ- 
ment it  could  be  working  in.  Of  course,  only  a few  busi- 
nesses wiil  run  a small  computer  that  much  but  you 
should  always  plan  for  the  worst  case  you  can  think  of 
and  then  make  it  thirty  percent  worse.  Equipment  fail- 
ures will  keep  you  and  your  clients  up  late  working 
things  out.  A couple  of  5:30  A,M.  crashes  and  your 
clients  will  be  going  to  IBM. 

The  CPU  and  the  other  stuff  inside  the  cabinet  are  not 
the  only  things  that  must  be  completely  reliable.  The 
peripherals  attached  to  the  system  must  also  be  as 
solid  as  the  computer  itself.  Look  carefully  into  each 
component  you  are  planning  to  use  before  buying  it,  A 
good  way  to  find  out  if  a product  is  reliable  is  to  ask 
around.  One  place  to  start  is  your  local  computer  club. 
There  will  probably  be  at  least  a couple  of  members  who 
are  also  setting  up  business  systems.  They’ll  be  able  to 
tell  you  if  Company  X's  disk  drive  overheats  after  five 
hours  and  warps  the  disk  or  if  Company  Y's  printer  needs 
to  be  lubricated  every  two  days.  Another  place  to  get  in- 
formation is  from  the  company  itself.  In  the  mainstream 
software  business  the  companies  that  produce  software 
packages  often  distribute  the  names  of  other  users  of  a 
particular  package  to  prospective  clients.  That  way  the 
prospective  buyer  can  find  out  exactly  how  good  a given 
product  is  and  if  there  are  any  little  quirks  a user  should 
know  about,  I haven't  called  up  Shugart  or  PerSci,  but  a 
little  digging  along  these  lines  will  probably  yield  more 
information  than  you  really  need.  Remember,  if  one 
component  blows,  the  rest  are  so  much  scrap. 

Now  let's  take  a look  at  the  individual  components 
that  make  up  a system,  from  CPU  to  the  paper  for  the 
printer.  Since  it]s  the  heart  of  your  system,  let’s  start 
with  the  CPU,  The  first  thing  to  do  is  forget  about  the 
chip  being  used.  What  we  really  want  to  know  ts  if  there 
is  good  solid  software  available  to  support  itT  and  what 
kind  of  support  it  comes  with  (weTre  talking  about  cabi- 
nets, power  supplies,  etc.  now). 

Speed  is  not  terribly  important.  Most  business  pro- 
cessing consists  of  reading  in  a record,  moving  the  data 
around,  and  then  printing  it  out.  You’ll  almost  certainly 


be  limited  by  the  speed  of  your  peripherals  rather  than 
your  CPU.  One  thing  that  is  important  is  cosmetics. 
Given  two  similar  systems,  the  pretty  one  will  be  easier 
to  sell.  An  example  might  help  on  this.  If  you  get  the 
chance,  compare  an  IMSAI  and  a Digital  Group  side  by 
side.  That  IMSAI  would  look  right  at  home  in  a labora- 
tory or  factory.  Sure,  it  looks  just  like  a real  computer, 
but  it  doesn’t  really  fit  into  an  office  environment.  Now 
take  a took  at  the  Digital  Group  system,  A nice  neutral 
cabinet,  clean  design  with  no  sharp  comers,  no  flashing 
lights  to  distract  and  only  two  switches  on  the  front. 
"HfTifnm,"  says  the  client,  ''only  two  switches.  It 
couldn’t  be  very  hard  to  use.” 

The  most  important  thing  is  software.  You  can  always 
hide  all  those  switches  and  lights  in  a desk-type  unit  or 
have  a custom  cabinet  built. 

The  next  thing  to  think  about  is  memory.  You  will 
need  a lot.  Probably  more  than  you  think  you  do.  Also, 
remember  that  your  clients1  needs  wiil  change  as  they 
begin  to  see  alt  the  different  uses  they  can  put  their 
computers  to.  Those  new  uses  will  almost  certainly 
need  more  memory  and  guess  wholl  have  to  put  it  in. 
This  brings  up  a little  service  hint:  put  in  all  the  connec- 
tors that  the  motherboard  will  hold.  In  fact,  the  main- 
frame should  be  a maximum  configuration  setup  all 
around.  This  will  save  you  from  going  in  with  your  trusty 
soldering  iron  just  to  add  another  8K,  AM  you’ll  have  to 
do  is  plug  in  another  card;  be  it  memory,  a new  con- 
troller, or  whatever. 

How  much  memory  will  you  need?  About  40K  will  be 
the  absolute  minimum,  especially  if  you  are  using  soft- 
ware in  BASIC.  The  main  reason  for  this  is  the  nature  of 
business  program.  Many  of  the  programs  will  have  large 
tables*  Tax  tables,  pay  scales  and  the  like  will  require 
big  chunks  of  memory.  If  by  change  a program  uses  only 
a few  small  tables,  it  wilt  probably  have  dozens  of 
headings  for  the  different  reports  it  puts  out.  Error 
messages  will  also  take  up  memory  and  they  are  an  in- 
dispensable part  of  the  programs  you  will  sell 

The  speed  of  the  chips  you  use  wilt  not  be  important, 
but  the  power  consumption  will  be  at  least  a considera- 
tion. Remember  that  an  inadequate  power  supply  can 
contribute  to  unreliable  operation,  something  to  be 
avoided  at  all  costs. 

The  other  part  of  your  business  system's  memory  is 
mass  storage.  The  type  of  mass  storage  you  choose 
will,  to  a large  extent,  determine  the  capabilities  of  the 
entire  system.  The  reason  for  this  is  quite  simple.  If,  for 
example,  the  mass  storage  device  is  too  slow  for  sorting 
efficiently,  the  files  must  be  created  sequentially  and  all 
data  must  be  entered  in  order,  i.e.  it  must  be  sorted  by 
hand  before  being  entered.  This  will  tend  to  limit  the 
sale  of  your  system  to  clients  who  have  relatively  smali 
DP  requirements. 

Now  we  come  to  one  of  the  real  sore  points  among 
hobbyists  today:  full  size  versus  mini-floppies.  If  ap- 
pears on  first  glance  that  mini-floppies  are  the  best  bet 
because  of  their  very  low  cost.  A little  more  careful  look 
will  show  that  depending  on  the  application,  this  may  or 
may  not  be  true.  The  numbers  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
mini-disks  are  just  too  slow  for  indexed  access  and  sort* 


92  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


Computer  System 


mg.  They  also  have  a rather  limited  storage  capacity.  For 
only  about  one  third  the  capacity  and  one  sixth  the  speed 
of  the  full  size  floppies,  they  really  aren't  worth  the  lower 
cost.  A real  world  example  might  be  of  help  here.  At  the 
time  of  this  writing  the  Digital  Group  dual  floppy  sys- 
tems are  priced  at  $1545.00  for  the  8-inch  disks  and 
$1 145.00  for  the  minis.  That  price,  by  the  way,  is  for  inter- 
face, drives,  and  cabinet  fully  assembled.  Thus,  for  two 
thirds  the  price  you  get  only  one  third  the  capacity. 


Software  bugs  are  far  more  common 
than  hardware  ones,  and  you  will 
find  that  even  the  most  thoroughly 
tested  program  will  develop  a bug  as 
soon  as  a user  gets  his  hands  on  it. 


For  those  low  end  applications  that  do  not  require 
direct  access  to  data,  controllable  tape  drives  such  as 
the  Phi-Deck  offer  an  attractive  alternative.  Two  Phi- 
Decks  with  a controller  will  run  about  $700.00  or  so  right 
now  and  they  are  reasonably  fast.  There  is  also  a fair 
amount  of  software  available  that  supports  them,  par- 
ticularly from  Digital  Group, 

One  of  the  most  important  selling  points  of  your  sys- 
tem will  be  the  printer.  There  are  two  main  reasons  for 
this.  One  Is  that  the  businessman  will  want  a printer  that 
will  fit  in  with  the  office  environment.  This  means  fairly 
quiet  and  reasonably  good  looking.  The  other  reason  is 
that  the  printer  is  the  interface  between  his  business 
and  the  general  public.  A teletype  gives  a rather  poor  Im- 
pression of  a business.  Dot  matrix  printers  are  little  bet- 
ter, even  though  they  may  print  both  upper  and  lower 
case.  A standard  line  printer  is  awful  because  it  is  ugly 
looking,  both  physically  and  in  the  kind  of  output  it  pro- 
duces, and  it  is  very  noisy.  In  my  opinion,  you  canrt  beat 
an  IBM  Selectric  type  printer  for  quality  output. 

There  are  some  problems  with  a Selectric.  It  is  rather 
slow  for  large  amounts  of  output.  This  can  be  easily 
solved  by  having  one  large  central  printer  and  having 
your  clients  send  you  their  output  on  a floppy  disk  or  a 
tape  and  then  print  the  stuff  for  them  overnight.  This 
gets  you  into  some  more  problems  with  scheduling  and 
the  like,  but  it  is  one  way  of  solving  the  problem  for  the 
businessman.  You  couid  also  provide  a second  printer 
with  the  system  for  that  volume  printing,  if  the  applica- 
tion required  it  on  a daily  basis.  For  weekly  or  longer 
periods,  (monthly  and  quarterly  are  most  common),  the 
central  printer  idea  sounds  good  in  terms  of  cost  to  the 
client,  (it’s  silly  to  have  a $12,000.00  printer  on  a 
$3,000.00  system),  and  servicing  problems.  It's  easier  to 
get  service,  (or  do  it  yourself),  on  one  printer  than  on 
twenty.  That  brings  up  one  of  the  big  problems  with 
Seiectrics,  They  are  quite  reliable  if  they  are  perfectly 
adjusted.  That  adjustment  is  not  for  amateurs  to  make. 
Fortunately,  there  are  a lot  of  places  you  can  get  Selec- 
trie  maintenance  contracts. 


You  may  have  noticed  that  I haven't  mentioned  video 
displays  yet.  Well,  that’s  because  there  really  isn't  a 
whole  lot  to  say  about  them.  Size  is  very  important. 
Those  9-inch  monitors  are  just  about  the  minimum  size 
you  can  get  away  with.  If  the  businessman  goes  blind 
from  eye-strain,  and  can't  see  to  sign  your  monthly 
check,  you’ve  got  the  wrong  monitor. 

I’ve  been  talking  monitors  because  I believe  that  they 
are  a better  deal  than  the  video  terminals  available  on 
the  market.  Not  only  do  they  cost  less,  but  you  can  also 
write  better  software  drivers  for  them.  Good  data-entry 
software  is  an  important  part  of  the  total  system  The 
ability  to  fully  control  a display,  easily  changing  any  part 
of  it,  is  an  important  feature. 

The  keyboard  you  use  for  data  entry  is  also  important. 
The  extra  cost  of  a $200.00  keyboard  is  easily  justified 
when  you  look  at  the  price  of  video  terminals,  and  an 
easy-to-use  keyboard  makes  the  job  of  entering  data  a 
lot  lighter. 

Now  we  come  to  the  second  main  part  of  the  system: 
the  software.  Just  as  hardware  breaks  down  into  two 
main  divisions,  (CPU  and  peripherals),  software  can  also 
be  divided  into  two  sections:  systems  and  applications. 
Generally  you  won’t  have  to  worry  too  much  about  sys- 
tems software  since  it  will  be  supplied  by  the  manufac- 
turer. If  you  discover  a bug  in  a BASIC  interpreter,  the 
best  thing  to  do  is  report  it  to  the  company  you  bought 
the  BASIC  from  and  then  wait  for  them  to  give  you  a fix. 
This  is  the  way  it  is  done  on  large  scale  systems,  and 
there  is  no  reason  not  to  do  it  the  same  way  on  micros. 

Applications  software,  though,  is  your  worry  and  it  can 
be  one  of  the  biggest  problems  you  will  face.  Software 
bugs  are  far  more  common  than  hardware  ones,  and  you 
will  find  that  even  the  most  thoroughly  tested  program 
will  develop  a bug  as  soon  as  a user  gets  his  hands  on  it 

Almost  the  only  way  to  handle  applications  software 
is  to  buy  a package,  (once  again,  check  with  other  users 
to  find  out  what’s  best),  and  then  hire  a programmer  or 
two  to  make  modifications  for  each  your  clients7  special 
needs.  Getting  too  carried  away  with  custom  programs 
can  be  very  dangerous,  so  it's  best  to  limit  it  to  report 
formats  or  reporting  periods:  that  sort  of  thing. 

Even  the  largest  companies  live  with  packaged  soft- 
ware, so  it  won't  hurt  you  or  your  clients  to  go  that  route. 
It  is  simply  too  time-consuming  and  therefore  expensive 
to  develop  a complete  system  of  any  kind  on  an  indivi- 
dual basis. 

There  you  have  an  overview  of  the  main  parts  of  a busi- 
ness computer  system:  processor,  peripherals,  and  soft- 
ware. When  you  decide  to  start  setting  up  a prototype 
system,  remember  that  each  piece  of  equipment  must 
first  be  capable  of  doing  the  job  you  have  in  mind  plus  a 
little,  then  it  must  be  reliable,  and  last  it  must  be  service- 
able, These  three  things  apply  just  as  well  to  the  soft- 
ware you  plan  to  use.  A fact  that  is  often  overlooked. 

As  in  everything  else,  over-design  is  the  best  bet.  This 
policy  of  buying  the  best  components  rather  than  the 
cheapest  you  can  get  by  with,  and  putting  in  more  cap- 
ability than  you  ever  think  you  can  possibly  use  will  save 
you  more  in  the  end  than  any  short  cut  or  ‘'good  deal" 
you  can  possibly  make.D 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  93 


Card-of-the-Month 

Cost-Effective  Logic  Analyzer 
for  the  S-100  Bus 

By  Roger  Edelson,  Hardware  Editor 


The  Bus  Grabber  is  not,  obviously,  the  first  addition  I 
would  recommend  for  your  computer  installation.  How- 
ever, if  you  are  developing  your  hardware  or  writing 
machine  language  software,  the  Model  150  is  sure  nice  to 
have  around.  Bus  Grabber  is  also  very  useful  for  trouble 
shooting  day-to-day  problems  which  occur  in  most  micro- 
computer installations. 

The  Model  150  Bus  Grabber  is  a dedicated  S-100  Bus 
compatible  logic  analyzer,  and  as  such  provides  several 
features  not  previously  available  in  a multipurpose  logic 
analyzer  With  the  Model  150T  56  key  S-100  Bus  signals 
are  available  to  the  logic  analyzer  without  the  need  for 
inconvenient  interconnecting  probes.  The  Bus  Grabber 
accomplishes  this  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  the  device 
resides  on  a single  board  plugged  into  any  available 
slot  in  the  S-100  Bus  motherboard.  The  computer  sys- 
tem also  provides  the  power  for  the  analyzer,  allowing  a 


The  Model  150  provides  data  domain,  (versus  time  do- 
main), analysts  in  either  an  octal  or  hexadecimal  binary 
grouping.  The  data  format  is  user  selectable  through  a 
switch  on  the  control  pod.  The  display  size  is  8 bits,  (one 
byte),  wide  by  16  words  deep.  The  memory  size,  however, 
is  16  bits  by  16  words.  The  lower  address  byte  is  always 
stored  along  with  the  inout  data  group  selected.  The 
trigger  word  may  be  up  to  24  bits  wide  — ail  16  address 
bits  plus  the  eight  selected  input  signals.  Triggering 
may  be  set  up  for  either  a "'Tora^O”  for  the  16  address 
lines  and  a *'1,M  "0,”  or  "X"  (don't  care)  for  the  eight  data 
input  lines.  An  LED  on  the  control  pod  indicates  “trigger 
Ready"  and  the  trigger  word  is  intensified  in  the  display. 
A trigger  output  is  provided  for  triggering  an  oscillo- 
scope when  a valid  trigger  word  has  been  detected.  This 
feature  is  particularly  useful  when  the  problem  is  due  to 
logic  glitches. 


reduction  in  parts  count  and  cost,  fn  addition,  the  Model 
150  can  also  be  used  to  monitor  eight  additional  user- 
defined  signals  through  the  use  of  a plug-in  flat-ribbon 
cable  probe  assembly. 

Let's  take  a look  at  the  specifications  of  the  Model 
150  Bus  Grabber  before  we  discuss  the  construction 
and  operation  of  the  device.  As  mentioned,  the  Model 
150  is  a one-board  S-100  Bus  compatible  unit  with  a 
remote  hand-held  control  pod.  Power  is  obtained  from 
the  computer  system  — 700  ma  of  + BV  DC  and  some  50 
ma  of  -i-  V DC.  The  Model  150  provides  on-board  regu- 
lators as  is  standard  for  S-100  Bus  boards. 


The  control  pod  also  allows  the  selection  of  eight  dif- 
ferent groups  of  eight  signal  lines.  Seven  groups  are 
from  the  S-100  Bus:  Lower  Address  Byte,  Upper  Address 
Byte,  MPU  Data  Input,  MPli  Data  Output,  MPU  Status, 
MPU  Interrupts,  and  MPU  Control.  The  last  group  of 
eight  signals  are  the  external  signals  obtained  by  using 
the  color  coded  data  input  probe. 

The  data  to  be  displayed  may  be  collected  in  either  posi- 
tive time,  (after  the  trigger  word),  or  negative  time,  (prior  to 
the  trigger  word).  The  display  modes  may  be  either  single 
(snapshot)  or  repetitive.  These  functions  are  ail  select* 
able  from  the  hand  held  control  pod.  The  data  collection 


S-100  BUS 
COMPUTER 
SYSTEM 


PERIPHERAL 

DEVICE 


OPTIONAL  DATA  PROBES  (B)  \ 


LOWER  ADOR  BYTE  (8) 
UPPER  ADDR  BYTE  (8)  ~ 
DATA  IN  (8) 

DATA  OUT  {Q) 

MPU  STATUS  (8) 

MPU  INTERRUPTS  (8)  * 
MPU  CONTROL  (8) 


MODEL  150 
S-100 

PC  BOARD 

(PLUGS  INTO 
COMPUTER) 


CONTROL  POD 

-ADDR  TRIG  (16) 
-DATA  TRIG  (8) 
-DISPLAY 
FORMATTING 


98 

A A 4 

— 1 

ST 

m 

It 

U 

m 

m 

18 

m 

ut 

U 

us 

sit 

Tf 

tii 

n 

l£f 

in 

SCOPE 

HOR 

VERT 

BLANK 


Figure  1.  The  Model  150  in  a typical  S-100  bus  application.  Optional  data  probes  permit  peripheral  devices  to  be 
analyzed  as  well. 


94  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


( Refer  to  schematic  at  end  <*F  trtti*leitioatiag  S-1M 

secs  ion  for  Bor*  detailed  iftforMtion  } 


o 


3 

I 


Figure  2.  Model  1 SO  detailed  block  d lagram.  Heavy  line  Indicates  the  main  data  paths  from  S-1 00  bus  or  external  system. 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  95 


rale  is  greater  than  eight  megabytes  per  second. 

The  polarity  of  the  clock  pulse  provided  by  the  S-100 
Bus  machine  is  automatically  selected  as  appropriate 
for  the  selected  data  group,  and  Is  also  automatically 
qualified  with  the  other  S-100  Bus  signals. 

The  input  logic  levels  are  compatible  with  either  TTL, 
DTL,  CMOS,  etc,  {Logic  ”0”:  -0.5V  to  + 1.6V,  and  logic 
“1":  + 1.6V  to  + 15V),  The  input  signal  loading  is  400  ua 
max,  for  logic  “0”  and  less  than  100  ua  for  a logic  "1.”  The 
input  threshold  is  set  at  + 1.6V  to  be  compatible  with  TTL 
logic.  The  Model  150  also  provides  a blanking  output 
with  selectable  levels  (to  + 16V)  and  selectable  polarity. 

To  understand  the  operation  of  the  Model  150  it  will 
be  necessary  to  refer  to  the  overall  system  diagram  (Fig- 
ure 1),  the  detailed  block  diagram  {Figure  2),  and  the 
Schematic  Diagram  (Figures  3 and  4). 

Referring  to  Figure  1,  we  can  see  that  the  Bus  Grab - 
bet  is  divided  into  two  printed  circuit  boards  — the  com* 
plex  4-layer  S-100  plug-in  card,  and  a simpler  2-layer 
wired  in  board  for  the  control  pod.  As  mentioned  earlier, 
the  56  signals  from  the  S-100  Bus  are  picked  up  at  the 
main  board's  edge  connector  (P3).  The  signals  are  grouped 
into  seven  8-bit  bytes  by  the  action  of  the  DATA  SELECT 
MULTIPLEXER  (U32-U39)  as  shown  in  Figure  2.  The  multi- 
plexer then  outputs  the  selected  8-bit  data  group  to  the 
INPUT  DATA  LATCH  (U7,  U8),  The  data  group  selected  is 
determined  by  the  position  of  the  DATA  SELECT  SWITCH 
on  the  control  pod.  When  in  position  “EXT”  the  external 
eight  signal  lines  are  selected. 

To  assure  proper  state  recognition,  any  logic  analyzer 
must  use  the  correct  clock  polarity  to  latch  in  the  data 
signals.  As  the  data  signals  derived  from  the  S-100  Bus 
have  known  clock  polarities,  it  is  possible  to  provide  a 
logic  signal  from  the  DATA  SELECT  SWITCH  to  com- 
mand the  INPUT  CLOCK  LOGIC  (U40,  42,  43)  to  choose 
the  appropriate  clock  polarity  (rising,  or  falling).  As  the 
external  signals  do  not  have  a predetermined  clock 
polarity,  the  polarity  of  the  clocking  signal  must  be 
definable  by  the  user.  In  order  to  do  this  an  independent 
CLOCK  POLARITY  SELECT  switch  is  provided  on  the 
main  printed  circuit  board.  This  switch  is  always  set  to 
the  negative  (falling)  position  for  the  S-100  Bus  signals. 
The  board  logic  then  selects  the  appropriate  polarity. 

Latched  8-bit  data  words  are  stored  sequentially  into 
the  Model  150's  8*bit  x 16-word  DATA  MEMORY  (U21, 
U22)  upon  command  of  the  DISPLAY  CONTROL  LOGIC 
(U12,  U13,  U14,  U27,  U28)  and  the  triggering  logic  con- 
sisting of  the  DATA  TRIGGER  COMPARATOR  (U1;  lo- 
cated on  the  control  pod  PC  board);  the  ADDRESS  TRIG- 
GER COMPARATOR  (US,  U6,  U9,  U10);  and  the  ADDRESS 
COMPARE  FLIP  FLOP  (U11),  Four,  4-bit  DIP  switches 
(SI 5-SI 8)  on  the  control  pod  determine  the  16-bit  ad- 
dress which  must  occur  on  the  address  bus  before  the 
Model  150  will  trigger.  If  desired,  the  user  can  turn  all  16 
switches  off  using  the  ADDRESS  TRIGGER  ON/OFF 
CONTROL  (SI 4)  on  the  pod.  This  feature  is  useful  when 
using  Model  150's  external  data  input  probes  on  non- 
related  digital  equipment  and  the  triggering  of  the  unit 
on  a specific  address  of  the  S-100  Bus  microcomputer 
system  has  no  meaning.  The  OFF  position  of  this  switch 
is  also  useful  for  collecting  and  analyzing  random 
16-word  truth  tables  as  a starting  point  for  solving  dif- 
ficult S-100  Bus  problems. 

The  eight  DATA  TRIGGER  SWITCHES  (S1-S8)  provide 
combinatorial  logic  triggering,  he,,  each  switch  can  be 
set  to  “I,”  “0,”  or”X”  (don-t  care).  These  switches  "qual- 
ify” the  data  grouping  chosen  for  analysis  by  the  DATA 
SELECT  SWITCH  on  the  pod.  For  example,  if  the  AD- 
DRESS TRIGGER  SWITCHES  are  off,  the  MPU  STATUS 
word  (STAT)  is  selected,  and  the  particular  DATA  TRIG- 
GER SWITCH  corresponding  to  MEMORY  READ  opera- 
tions (Bit  7)  is  set  to  “1”  {all  others  are  ”X”),  then  the 


Model  150  will  trigger  only  when  the  first  READ  occurs. 

The  triggering  logic  also  provides  a TRIG  output  sig- 
nal which  is  available  as  a sync  pulse  to  an  oscilloscope 
for  real-time  troubleshooting  of  glitches  and  timing 
problems  associated  with  particular  machine  states. 
The  TRIG  output  signal  is  a function  of  the  occurrence 
of  either  the  16-bit  address  trigger  word,  the  8-bit  data 
trigger  work,  or  both,  depending  on  which  is  enabled. 

The  manner  in  which  data  words  are  collected  by  the 
DATA  MEMORY  is  determined  by  the  DISPLAY  CON- 
TROL LOGIC,  if  the  MODE  SWITCH  (S11)  is  in  the 
POSITIVE  TIME  MODE,  data  collection  begins  when  the 
triggering  logic  provides  the  collection  start  command. 
After  16  input  clock  pulses,  collection  stops  and  the 
memory  contains  the  data  word  present  at  the  time  the 
trigger  word  occurred,  plus  the  next  15  words.  In  the 
NEGATIVE  MODE,  the  memory  stores  data  continuously 
until  the  triggering  logic  provides  the  collection  stop 
command.  At  this  point,  the  memory  contains  the  15  data 
words  leading  up  to  the  trigger  signal,  plus  the  particular 
data  word  present  at  the  occurrence  of  that  trigger  signal. 


The  computer  system  also  provides 
the  power  for  the  analyzer, 
allowing  a reduction  in  parts  count 
and  cost.  In  addition,  the 
Model  150  can  also  be  used  to 
monitor  eight  additional  user-defined 
signals  through  the  use  of  a 
. . .flat-ribbon  cable  probe  assembly. 

If  the  SI  NGUE7REPEAT  SWlfcH  {SI  2)  is  in  the  SINGLE 
position,  the  DISPLAY  CONTROL  LOGIC  prevents  the 
DATA  MEMORY  from  collecting  new  data  so  that  the 
same  information  will  be  written  over  and  over  again  on 
the  oscilloscope  screen.  The  writing  speed  is  fast  enough 
so  that  a flicker-free  “snapshot”  is  displayed  on  the 
CRT.  This  snapshot  will  remain  displayed  until  the 
RESET  button  (S13)  is  pushed,  causing  the  address  of 
the  selected  memory  to  advance  to  the  next  word  loca- 
tion. At  the  same  time,  the  DATA  WORD  LOGIC  issues  a 
command  to  the  VERTICAL  D/A  which  causes  the  beam  to 
move  down  one  row  in  preparation  for  the  display  of  the 
next  word.  This  process  continues  until  all  16  words  have 
been  written  on  the  screen.  The  trigger  word  appears 
brighter  than  the  other  words  in  the  truth  table  as  a result 
of  the  INTENSIFY  LOGIC  (U15,  U29)  which  provides  a re- 
writing feature:  the  trigger  word  is  written  over  and  over 
agai  n 8 ti  mes  so  that  it  appears  intensified  on  the  CRT. 

Blanking  between  characters  is  provided  by  the  re- 
maining bit  of  the  HORIZONTAL  CONTROL  ROM,  (This 
ROM  functions  as  a microcontroller  which  controls  the 
8:1  DATA  MULTIPLEXER,  the  HORIZONTAL  D/A,  and  the 
BLANKING  LOGIC).  Note  that  if  the  BLANK  output  is 
not  connected  to  the  scope,  the  intensification  of  the 
first  or  last  word  in  the  truth  table  will  not  be  lost  and,  in 
most  cases,  the  display  will  still  be  highly  readable. 

The  Model  150  goes  together  quite  easily,  though  it  is 
not  quite  a one  night  kit.  The  printed  circuit  boards  are 
adequately  marked  for  all  the  components.  1 would  pre- 
fer that  the  value  of  the  discrete  components  were  placed 
on  the  board  — but  that's  a minor  quibble.  I just  don’t 
like  to  have  to  continually  refer  to  a parts  list  to  find  the 


96  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


ADR  TRIG  0 


I 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


6 


9 


10 


II 


12 


13 


14 


ADR  TRIG  15 


+ 5V 


GND 


APRIL  1978 


Figure  3 


INTERFACE  AGE  97 


98  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  19  78 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  99 


SYSTEM  SELECTION  ADVICE.  WE  WILL  HELP 
YOU  TO  CHOOSE  FROM  THE  BEST  OF  EACH 
MANUFACTURER  TO  COMPLETE  THE  SVSTEM 
BEST  SUITED  TO  YOUR  NEEDS.  COME  SEE 
AND  try; 


PROCESSOR  TECH. 

SOL  20  SYSTEM 

TOL  ZPU2I6K 

CROMEMCO 

POLYMORPHIC 

VECTOR  GRAPHICS 

■MSAI 

SWTP 

rNTEL 

BYTE 


ICGM  DfSCS 
NORTH  STAR 

tarbell 

SEALS 

OYNASYTE 

LEAR  AOM  3A 

COM  PlJ  COLOR 

SOROC 

SANYO 

HITACHI 


ALPHA  MICRO  lfi  0 

OHIOATA 

DEC  WRITER 

MULUTERM 

S R POLYPHONIC 

COMPUTALKER 

S S MUSIC 

1C  S SOCKETS 

TOOLS  SUPPL  IES 

BOOKS  MAGAZINES 


LAWNDALE 

BYTE  SHOP 

Ihe  affordable  computer  store 


16508  HAWTHORNE  BLVD. 
LAWNDALE.  CA  90260 
(213)  371  2421 

HRS:  TUE.  FRI.  12  8.  SAT  10-6 


TORRANCE 


0ANKAMERICARD  • MASTERCHARGE  - AMERICAN  EXPRESS 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  70 


GENERAL  PAYROLL  SYSTEM 

This  is  a general  payroll  system  which  computes  3 
weekly,  bi-weekly  or  monthly  payroll  register.  Trans- 
action files  are  maintained  for  each  quarter  to  allow 
for  generalization  of  reports.  The  program  is  based 
on  a self-prompting  concept  allowing  the  user  to 
execute  the  programs  by  simply  responding  to  the 
program  questions  as  they  appear. 


Ttie  Following  Reports  Are  Available: 

Weekly  payroll  register 
Monthly  transaction  summary  report 
Monthly  transaction  detail  report 
Quarterly  transaction  summary  report 
Quarterly  transaction  detail  report 
Employee  year-to-date  report 
Employee  record  listing 

The  Fallowing  Form  Printing  Routines  Are  Available; 
Print  weekly  payroll  checks 
Print  employee  address  labels 
Print  employee  W2  forms 

The  Following  File  Update  Functions  Are  Available: 

Add  a new  employee 
Delete  an  employee 

Change  an  employee's  T . Name,  Marital  Status,  Address, 
Pay  Rate/Type,  Tax  Exemptions,  Deductions 


This  program  is  designed  to  operate  on  the  North  star 
Micro-Disk  System.  (Soon  to  be  available  on  Mlcromatfons 
Macro  Disk.) 


For  Additional  Information 

NEIGHBORHOOD  COMPUTER  STORE 
4902  * 34th  No.  2D 
Lubbock,  Texas  79410 
(806)  797-1468 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  87 
100  INTERFACE  AGE 


component  value  to  place  on  the  board.  Also,  the  mark- 
ing of  the  reference  numbers  of  the  components  on  the 
printed  circuit  board  does  little  good  after  the  board  has 
been  assembled,  as  the  components  then  cover  the 
marked  designations. 

The  printed  circuit  board  has  gold-plated  edge  connec- 
tors for  reliability  and  the  circuit  traces  are  tinned  to  make 
soldering  easier.  The  solder  masking  is  first  rate,  and  I 
liked  the  use  of  the  edge  connector  to  attach  the  ribbon 
cable  between  the  control  pod  and  the  main  board.  The 
ribbon  cable  is  soldered  into  the  control  pod  by  means 
of  a plug  which  is  inserted  into  appropriate  holes  on  the 
pod  printed  circuit  board  and  then  soldered.  This  makes 
a reliable  and  easy  to  assemble  connection. 

The  control  pod  is  also  very  easy  to  assemble,  though 
some  minor  difficulty  may  be  experienced  when  trying 
to  line  up  the  switches  and  the  holes  in  the  cover  plate. 
At  least  one  of  the  components  referred  to  in  the  assembly 
manual  (a  switch  with  one  mounting  tab  removed),  was 
never  found,  t removed  the  offending  tab  myself. 

The  board  is  adequately  filtered  and  the  5 volt  regula- 
tor has  its  own  heat  sink.  All  in  all  the  kit  is  easy  to 
assemble— this  is  one  in  which  I made  no  errors— and  will 
present  no  problems  to  the  average  computer  enthusiast. 


The  Model  150  goes  together  quite 
easily,  though  it  is  not  quite  a 
one  night  kit.  The  printed  circuit 
boards  are  adequately  marked 
for  all  the  components  . . . The  solder 
masking  is  first  rate. . . 

All  in  all  the  kit  is  easy  to  assemble 
. . . will  present  no  problems 
to  the  average  computer  enthusiast. 


Once  assembled,  it  is  necessary  to  check  out  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Model  150.  In  this  phase  of  the  assembly,  the 
manual  really  shines.  Over  12  pages  of  checkout  instruc- 
tions are  provided.  Before  installing  any  of  the  inte- 
grated circuits,  you  are  required  to  measure  all  the  sup- 
ply voltages  to  assure  that  they  are  within  acceptable 
tolerance.  Two  pages  alone  are  used  to  help  you  select 
the  blanking  level  appropriate  to  your  scope, 

The  manual  then  requires  that  continuity  and  voltage 
checks  be  made  after  the  integrated  circuits  have  been 
installed.  In  my  case,  everything  went  extremely  smoothly 
with  no  glitches;  the  Bus  Grabber  worked  perfectly  with 
no  problems.  However,  if  you  do  run  into  difficulty,  Para- 
tronics  has  provided  an  eleven-page  troubleshooting 
section  which  would  appear  to  cover  most  of  the  prob- 
lems that  would  be  encountered. 

The  Model  150  Bus  Grabber  may  be  obtained  from 
Paratronics,  Inc.  at  800  Charcot  Avenue,  San  Jose,  Cali- 
fornia 95131.  I have  found  this  an  extremely  useful  diag- 
nostic tool  in  the  development  of  specialized  systems 
using  an  S-100  Bus  chassis.  Both  hardware  and  software 
developmental  problems  were  uncovered  and  solved 
with  a great  reduction  in  time  and  energy  that  would 
have  been  spend  without  the  aid  of  a logic  analyzer.  In 
particular,  the  availability  of  an  S-100  Bus  dedicated 
analyzer  made  the  problems  of  signal  selection  and  in- 
terconnection much  easier.D 


APRIL  1978 


ROBOTS: 

Making  Them  Work 


By  Roger  C.  Garrett 

Northeastern  Regional  Editor 


Since  the  dawn  of  the  Industrial  Revolution,  man  has 
dreamed  of  finding  a method  of  using  machinery  to  handle 
the  drudgery  of  work.  Visions  of  mechanical  men,  electro- 
mechanical servants  who  will  be  able  to  handle  mun- 
dane chores,  has  always  been  the  ultimate  quest. 

With  the  growth  of  microcomputer  technology,  this 
dream  or  vision  has  possibilities.  Yet  there  is  more  to 
robot  development  than  providing  a brain.  The  current 
state  of  robot  design  is  not  as  advanced  as  many  of  us 
would  like  to  hope  or  believe. 

Therefore,  to  find  out  what  is  happening  in  the  field 
of  robotic  research,  I visited  the  Robot  Research  Group, 
at  the  University  of  Rhode  Isiand  at  Kingston.  This 
group  is  made  up  of  several  hard-working  graduate 
students,  and  is  headed  by  Professors  J.R.  Birk  and  R.B. 
Kelley.  Their  work  is  being  funded  by  a grant  from  the 
National  Science  Foundation, 

Professor  Kelley  explained  that  most  people  have  the 
wrong  idea  about  what  robots  really  are.  They  see  them 
either  as  the  Hollywood  stereotyped  “robot”  or  the  little 
mobile  black  boxes  that  scurry  around  the  floor  looking 
for  electrical  outlets  to  recharge  their  batteries.  As  Pro- 
fessor Kelley  puts  it,  “The  word  ‘robot1  as  it  was  origi- 
nally defined,  means  worker.  And  the  average  worker 
does  not  scurry  about  the  floor  (except,  possibly,  for 
basketball  players}.  A worker  is  usually  in  a relatively 
stationary  position,  performing  some  task.” 

This  is  certainly  true  of  the  research  robot  at  URI.  In- 
deed, it  is  virtually  bolted  to  the  floor,  and  while  its  work- 
space, that  volume  of  space  to  which  its  arm  has  access, 
is  limited  to  a mere  few  cubic  feet,  it  is  sufficient  to  pro- 
vide it  with  the  ability  to  perform  many  worthwhile  tasks. 

Their  robot,  called  the  Mark  III,  is  mounted  in  a rack 
that  provides  it  with  three  degrees  of  freedom  That  means 
that  It  can  move  its  arm  vertically,  horizontally,  and  for- 
ward and  back.  The  arm  itself  has  an  additional  three  de- 
grees of  freedom,  allowing  it  to  extend  from  the  suppor- 
tive cage  and  to  flex  its  wrist  in  two  kinds  of  rotary  mo- 
tion. The  actual  hand  of  the  robot  can  consist  of  a sim- 
ple magnet  for  picking  up  metal  objects,  or  a claw  for 
grasping  any  type  of  small  object.  Photos  3 and  4 show 
the  arm  equipped  with  the  magnetic  hand.  It  was  found 
that  the  claw  hand  often  got  in  the  way  of  the  object  and 
the  computer  had  trouble  seeing  what  it  was  doing. 

Yes,  the  Mark  III  can  see.  In  an  earlier  version  it  was 
connected  to  a standard  vidicon  type  television  camera. 
In  the  Mark  III  setup,  a General  Electric  solid  state 
camera  provides  sight  to  the  robot.  Working  as  an  inter- 
rupt-driven input  device  the  camera  can  provide  a full 
field  view  of  128x128  pixels,  (picture  elements),  in  one 
thirtieth  of  a second.  The  computer  then  takes  over  to 
analyze  the  picture  and  determine  what  moves  should 
be  made  by  the  robot  arm,  in  order  to  accomplish  its 
given  task. 


PHOTO  1 Side  view  of  the  rack-mounted  Mark  III. 


PHOTO  2 Side  view  of 


} mechanism. 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  101 


uss® 


*& 


*&&  ^ 


t««,c  ^ 


0^ 


^<> 

$< 


1*0 


>1$ 


^ ’,1  e 


v° 

$ 


to 


r 


*°S 


^Ss*" 


Vlc$o  c^0^  ^ 

WvvQ'.t!#  l(v^ 


s*!#’ 


c^::> 


x 


^ ^s§5t5^ 
^►fS>* 
V 


?02  /wrefiMce>4G£ 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  82 


4PR/L  7978 


PHOTO  5 Setup  for  a test  situation. 


The  task  that  it  is  currently  working  on,  and  which  has 
the  graduate  students  trying  out  new  methods,  is  to  re- 
trieve a workpiece  from  a bin;  then  properly  placing  it  on 
a conveyor  belt  or  inserting  it  into  a receptacle. 

While  that  may  sound  like  a fairly  simple  task,  and  in- 
deed it  is  for  any  human  being,  it  is  actually  a very  intri* 
cate  and  complicated  one  for  a computer.  Take  a look  at 
a bin  full  of  randomly  oriented  parts  and  try  to  deter- 
mine exactly  how  your  brain  knows  what  constitutes  an 
individual  part.  Your  eye  sees  an  array  of  points  of  light, 
with  varying  Intensities.  Somehow  your  brain,  calling 
upon  years  of  learned  experience,  analyzes  that  picture 
and  comes  up  with  a set  of  commands  for  your  arms  and 
hands  to  reach  out,  and  pick  up  an  individua  piece.  Is  it  a 
simple,  straightforward  method?  If  you  think  you  fully 
understand  it  then  try  writing  it  down  as  a computer 
algorithm.  You  will  soon  realize  the  scope  of  this  task. 
Yet  that  is  what  they  are  attempting  to  do  at  the 
Research  Group. 

Will  they  succeed?  From  what  they  have  done  so  far, 
and  they  have  published  the  results  of  their  work  to  this 
point,  it  appears  that  they  are  on  the  right  track.  The 
researchers  can  already  determine  certain  essential 
parameters  about  the  field  of  view,  such  as  identifying 
surfaces  and  corners.  From  that  information,  the  orien- 
tation of  the  piece  can  be  determined  and  eventually 
command  the  hand  to  pick  it  up.  The  next  major  hurdle 
is  to  be  able  to  identify  a single  piece  from  among  a ran* 
dom  pile  of  similar  workpieces. 

The  work  is  slow  but  rewarding.  The  eventual  applica- 
tions of  a robot  with  this  capability  will  more  than  pay 
back  the  time  and  expense  that  has,  and  will,  go  into 
this  type  of  research.  Eventually  such  robots  will  be  able 
to  replace  human  workers  in  environments  which  are 
dangerous,  or  where  such  use  can  result  in  increased 
productivity. 

In  the  introduction  to  the  report  "General  Methods  to 
Enable  Robots  with  Vision  to  Acquire,  Orient,  and  Trans- 
port Workpieces:  Third  Report/'  Professor  Birk  writes: 
"Human  labor  is  the  dominant  method  used  to  load 
machines  with  workpieces  which  are  supplied  unori- 
ented in  bins  . . . Humans  cannot  substantially  change 
their  performance  at  these  jobs,  therefore  the  use  of 
humans  cannot  lead  to  significant  improvement  in  pro- 
ductivity. These  jobs  do  not  enrich  human  life.  People 
have  increasingly  higher  aspirations  for  good  jobs,  thus 
labor  is  becoming  harder  to  find  and  the  cost  of  labor  is 
increasing." 

So  there  are  high  hopes  for  the  future  of  robotics.  But 
our  current  level  of  robotics  technology  has  yet  to  pro- 
duce a robot  of  the  Star  Wars  genre.  So  those  of  us  who 
are  fascinated  by  the  prospects  of  the  future  will  wait, 
while  researchers  like  Professors  Birk  and  Kelley,  and 
the  graduate  students  at  the  University  of  Rhode  Island, 
continue  their  work.  Perhaps,  just  perhaps,  someday  we 
will  each  have  a robot  of  our  own  doing  the  housework. □ 


PHOTO  3 Front  view  of  total  arm  and  hand  assembly. 


PHOTO  4 Eyes  of  the  robot. 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  103 


Figure  1.  Functional  Schematic  of  X MTR  Sub-audible 
Tone  Generator  {25-35Hz)  for  Robbie  the  Robot. 


PHOTO  1 


PHOTO  3 


Robbie,  the  first  attempt  at 
building  a robot,  was  constructed 
of . . . sheet  metal,  conical 
shaped  to  form  the  outer  skin. 


How  does  one  feel  talking  to  a piece  of  tin  and  elec- 
tronic gadgetry  resembling  something  less  than  a 
mechanical  man,  say,  a shop  type  vacuum  cleaner? 
Well,  it  soon  became  apparent  to  me  that  there  are  as 
many  types  of  reactions  as  there  are  people. 

However,  three  main  reaction  categories  can  be  de- 
rived by  observation.  The  first  and  most  prevalent  is  sur- 
prise followed  by  bewilderment  and  in  some  cases  fear. 

Watching  and  noting  these  reactions  with  Robbie  the 
robot,  who  weighed  some  50  pounds  and  stood  over  5 
feet  tall,  caused  the  uneasy  feeling  that  if  it  dropped  a 
wheel  off  the  edge  of  a walkway,  it  would  topple  over, 
crushing  a small  dog,  child  or  Volkswagen.  This  led  to 
the  development  of  Gronk,  the  second  robot,  smaller 
and  less  threatening.  Robbie,  the  first  attempt  at 
building  a robot,  was  constructed  of  Yj*"  x 5’  sheet 
metal,  conical  shaped  to  form  the  outer  skin.  This 
mounted  on  a Vz " plywood  base  26"  in  diameter  (this 
dimension  happened  to  be  that  of  my  son's  bicycle 
wheel  used  to  draw  the  circular  base).  Two  used  car 
windshield  wiper  motors  mounted  vertically  were  its 
basic  ingredient.  These  motors  were  energized  by  two 
6-volt  motorcycle  batteries  (6N2-2A)  connected  in  series 
to  give  the  12  volts  required  to  run  them  at  full  speed. 


Robbie  and  Gronk 

By  Keith  Paul 


What  good  is  it,  or  what  can  it  do?  These  were  the  most 
frequently  asked  questions  while  ‘Robbie’  the  robot  was 
on  display  at  Bell  Canada’s  recent  'open  house’  held  to 
celebrate  the  opening  of  their  new  24-story  Regional 
Headquarters  building  in  Toronto.  ‘Robbit,’  a tail  conical 
shaped  robot  {Photo  1),  and  ‘Gronk,’  the  shorter  cylindri- 
cal machine  (Photo  2),  are  the  two  robots  which  John 
Hughes  and  myself  built  over  the  past  year. 

I first  became  interested  in  robots  while  attending  a 
communications  trade  show  in  Kansas  City,  Missouri, 
last  year,  I was  not  so  much  taken  in  by  the  technology 
required  to  make  it  work  at  the  time,  as  I am  exposed  to 
that  daily  in  my  work,  as  ( was  the  effect  it  had  on  the 
people  that  were  confronted  with  a robot  for  the  first  time. 


104  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


Mobile  Robots 


Two  speeds  were  provided  by  using  the  full  12  volts  or 
tapping  info  the  6 volt  connection,  approximately  60/30 
rpm  respectively.  Fast  or  slow  speed  was  selected  by  a 
manual  switch  placed  just  below  the  back  of  his  head  at 
shoulder  level,  along  with  the  power  on/off  switches. 

The  forward,  right  and  left  turn  functions  were  accom- 
plished by  simply  providing  power  to  both,  left  or  right 
wheels  respectively.  This  was  afl  under  remote  control 
using  a hand-held  RS,  FM-91  Wireless  Microphone  and 
an  RS  AM/FM  Pocket  Portable  Radio  12-609  mounted  in 
the  head  of  the  robot*  The  head  is  a sphere,  originally 
used  as  a speaker  enclosure. 

With  the  speaker  removed  and  the  receiver  taking  its 
place,  along  with  the  antenna  sticking  out  the  top  of  it,  I 
now  had  remote  controlled  voice  and  functions. 

The  functions  were  operated  by  transmitting  sub- 
audible  tones  25  and  35  Hz  which  were  push  button 
energized  and  injected  into  the  FM  transmitter's  ampli- 
fier stage  (Figure  1).  At  the  receive  end  the  sub-audible 
tones  were  picked  off  the  receiver  speaker  (using  the 
earphone  jack,  modified)  and  cabled  to  the  base  where 
they  were  amplified  and  used  to  Jock  two  phase  lock 
loops  (567’s).  If  and  when  they  lock,  it  causes  an  output 
which  controls  a transistor  driver  which  in  turn  operates 
two  RS  12V  DC  DPDT  relays.  The  6 or  12  volts  derived 
from  the  motorcycle  batteries  were  passed  over  the 
form  ‘c’  contacts  fo  the  relays  to  the  windings  of  the 
motors  (Figure  2). 


Figure  2.  Functional  Schematic  of  R CVR  Sub-audible 
Tone  Detector  for  Robbie  the  Robot, 


By  pushing  the  buttons  on  the  control  box  which  in- 
jected the  sub-audibles  into  the  FM  transmitter  and/or 
speaking  into  the  associated  microphone  you  could  con- 
trol the  forward  direction  of  the  robot  and  provide  a voice. 

Clearance  lights,  inserted  in  to  the  2"  exhaust  flex 
tubing  used  for  arms,  which  were  subsequently  bound 
with  plastic  electrical  tape,  were  lighted  over  contacts 
of  the  right/left  relays  when  the  motors  were  energized. 
This  provided  some  measure  of  awareness. 

It  was  soon  found  that  the  FM  transistor  and  receiver 
would  fade  and/or  drift  off  frequency  just  enough  to  give 
unreliable  operation.  Also,  the  phase  lock  loops 
wouldn’t,  at  times  most  of  the  electronic  buffs  know. 
Worse  than  that,  it  is  characteristic  for  their  output  to 
become  pseudo  analog.  This  means  that  the  output  fluc- 
tuates rapidly  between  zero  and  one,  leaving  you  in  the 
“twilight  zone.”  When  this  happens  Robbie’s  behavior 
becomes  erratic  to  say  the  least,  and  just  maybe  you 
have  created  a monster. 


PHOTO  2 


PHOTO  2 
PHOTO  4 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  105 


INTERFACE 

AGE 

BACK  ISSUES 

Available  in  Limited  Quantities 


1976 

APRIL,  OCTOBER,  NOVEMBER 

1977 

JANUARY,  FEBRUARY,  MARCH,  MAY 
$1.75  + 50c  Postage  & Handling  Each 

1977 

JULY,  AUGUST 

SEPTEMBER,  OCTOBER,  NOVEMBER 

1978 

JANUARY 

$2.00  + 50c  Postage  & Handling  Each 

INTERFACE  AGE 

Department  B.l. 

P.O.  Box  1234 
Cerritos,  California  90701 


PHOTO  5 


'he 

Software 
Collection! 

Business  Programs  For 

AM-IOO 

MICROPnUS 

My-8813 

I Send  $3.95  for  I 
fully  illustrated  catalog  w/] 
instructions,  flow  charts, 
print  outs- A/R,  A/Pt  G/L, 
Payroll,  Inventory,  etc, 

( programs  are  $25  « $250) 

BYTE  SHOP. 

the  affordable  computer  store 

4 west  mission 
santa  barbara,  ca 
93101 

(805)  966-2638 


106  INTERFACE  AGE  CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  100 


However,  this  first  attempt  was  worthwhile  as  I soon 
found  out  what  approach  not  to  take,  I should  add,  how- 
ever, that  for  some  fun  with  a semi-autonomous,  (not  de- 
signed that  way),  robot  at  a price  almost  anyone  can  af- 
ford, this  approach  has  merit. 

My  second  attempt  at  being  creative  resulted  in  a 
robot  known  as  Gronk,  Physically  short  and  squatty, 
about  4G1T  high  and  22”  in  diameter,  is  more  robotish  in 
the  popular  sense. 

Photo  2 is  a general  view  of  this  robot  as  it  appears. 
Practically  speaking  it  resembles  a large  domed  can  of 
spray  deodorant.  Actually  the  outer  skin  is  a 40  gallon 
(Imperial)  hot  water  tank  cover  chopped  down  to  26”. 
The  machine  is  cylindrical,  and  weighs  50-60  pounds.  The 
metal  skin  is  covered  with  feit  material,  which  gives  it  a 
warmer  appearance  plus  color.  This  skin  is  removable  for 
gaining  access  to  the  drive  motors  and  electronic  con- 
trols. Limited  access  to  these  components  is  also  avail- 
able through  a covered  port  at  the  back. 

Modular  construction  is  used  where  possible,  i.e, 
motor  mounts,  plug-in  relays  and  circuit  cards,  etc. 
(Photo  3),  The  entire  unit  is  powered  by  a number  of  6 
volt  motorcycle  batteries  connected  in  series  to  provide 
up  to  24  volts  DC. 

The  robot's  locomotion  comes  from  two  drive  wheels 
(Photo  4).  An  idler  is  provided  as  a third  wheel  for  balance. 
Direction  is  given  by  stopping  one  wheel  and  driving  the 
other.  The  wheels  are  constructed  of  solid  rubber  4V2”  in 
diameter  and  1 V21'  wide  with  a center  steel  core  that  has 
been  forced  onto  a steel  shaft.  The  shaft  is  geared  and 
mounted  between  two  self  aligning  pillow  blocks.  If 
both  wheels  are  moved  in  the  same  direction,  the  robot 
travels  forwards  or  backwards  in  a straight  line.  If  the 

APRIL  1978 


wheels  are  moved  in  opposite  directions,  the  robot  exe- 
cutes a near  perfect  rotation  about  its  vertical  axis. 

The  precision  of  movement  is  limited  principally  by 
non-planer  floors,  wheel  slippage,  unequal  wheel  dia- 
meters, and  {he  Wke. 

The  drive  motors  are  Delco  Appliance  Motors  #5070200, 
12  volt  DC  reversable  clutch  driven  geared  units  with 
electro-mechanical  braking.  I found  these  at  an  aircraft 
surplus  parts  store  in  Toronto.  By  the  way  these  surplus 
stores,  rather  than  the  usual  electronic  surplus  stores, 
have  a better  selection  of  good  quality  components  at 
an  almost  affordable  price.  These  motors  were  only 
eight  dollars  a piece;  the  wiper  motors  previously  used 
were  ten  dollars  each.  I found  matching  shaft  gears  that 
gave  me  a wheel  rotation  of  approximately  60  rpm. 
These  were  then  assembled  on  a steel  plate  Vfc”  x 15”  x 
13”  to  form  the  arrangement  as  shown.  Incidentally, 
don’t  use  steel.  Use  aluminum  and  bolt  things  together 
if  you  don’t  have  access  to  a heliarc  welder.  This  cuts 
the  weight  down  significantly  (5-10  lbs.). 

These  motors  are  driven  by  12V  DC  through  contacts  of 
RS  12V  DC  DPDT  relays.  I used  these  relays  as  they  are 
“plug  in”  and  have  the  contact  current  carrying  capacity 
and  operate  voltage  values  that  are  required.  This  time, 
audible  coded  voice  frequency  tones  were  used  at  the 
transmit  end,  modulating  a voltage  controlled  oscillator 
which  provided  a 16  kHz  subcarrier  center  frequency. 
This  subcarrier  modulates  a 100  mw  crystal  controlled 


A transceiver  of  a similar  type  is  used  to  receive  these 
coded  voice  frequency  tones,  which  are  put  through  a 
high  pass  filter  and  limiter.  This  16  kHz  subcarrier 
modulated  by  the  coded  voice  frequency  tones  is  de- 
modulated using  a 567  phase  lock  loop  configured  as  an 
FM  demodulator,  leaving  the  VF  tones  only.  Seven  tones 
matrixed  to  provide  19  combinations  give  more  than 
enough  discrete  outputs  to  drive  the  features  that  I 
wanted  to  include.  All  this  is  housed  on  a vertical  stand 


NCE/Compumart 

1250  N.  Main  St..  P.O.  Box  8610 
Dept.  1A48,  Ann  Arbor.  Mi.  48107 
(313)  994-4445 


transceiver  which  is  currently  in  popular  use,  (Figure  3). 


CODED 

V.F. 

TONE 

GENERATOR 

_ _|  + 
swijf  -p,00°  P 

4 

6 

567 

2 fi 

TP 

i r.  8 k «50  PF 

I 10*  1 1 

IANSCEIV 

XMTR 

y 

ER 

IjwV 

<100  -K(M7 

t ^ II 

— L-.01 
-ri» 

J100  -*-.047  —*—.01 

- X'  X 


Figure  3.  Functional  Schematic  of  X MTR  Audible  Tone 
and  Subcarrier  Generator  for  Gronk  the  Robot. 


\ 

PERSONAL  COMPUTER  BREAKTHROUGH! 

12K  Home  Computer  System 

$299.95  ',0STPA">, 


BALLY  PROFESSIONAL 
ARCADE 

THE  ONLY  VIDEO  GAME  THE 
HOME  USER  CAN  PROGRAM. 

The  Professional  Arcade 
Is  a complete  home  com- 
puter system  and  In- 
cludes these  exciting 
features: 

• Z*80  based  processer  unit  (5 
limes  more  powerful  than  the 
Z-80  alone) 

• 24  key  keyboard  — adapts  to  a 
variety  of  programs  via 
keyboard  overlays 

• Instruction  manual 

• 4 remote  hand  controls  (all 
functions  can  be  addressed 
through  Tiny  Basic.) 


Calculator  — 5 function  10 
memory,  problems  can  be  scrol- 
led up  and  down  on  TV  screen 
from  keyboard 

3 games  — Gunfight. 
Checkmate,  Scribbling,  fun  for 
the  family  — more  available 
now.  many  more  on  the  way 


Tiny  Basic  Is  Here  NOW!  Order  Today  And  Get  It  FREE! 

With  Tiny  Basic,  the  Professional  Arcade  is  the  only  Video  Game  on  the 
market  that  the  home  user  can  program.  Tiny  Basic  includes  keyboard 
overlay.  ROM  cassette,  and  instruction  manual.  Features  music  graphics 
and  color.  Program  storage  of  up  to  1800  characters.  "Token  ' features 
permits  substitution  of  a single  character  for  an  instructional  word  or 
phrase  68  alphanumeric  and  special  characters  accessible  from  the 
keyboard.  Displays  11  lines  of  26  characters. 

* 

BUY  TINY  BASIC  today  for  $49.95.  and  receive  a full  refund  when  you 
purchase  the  expansion  package  This  limited  time  offer  is  available  only 
from  NCE  CompuMarl. 

Expand  Your  12K  System  To  44K  At  An  Unbelievably  Low 
Price! 

Your  Professional  Arcade can  be  expanded  into  a complete  home  informa- 
tion system  through  a 50  pin  connector  located  at  the  back  of  the  unit. 
Preliminary  Specifications  include 

• Full  Basic  with  extended  graphics  and  music. 

• 16K  additional  ROM  • Industry  Compatible  keyboard 

• 16K  additional  RAM  • IEEE  port  • Preliminary  price  $300 

Initial  deliveries  should  begin  during  the  third  quarter  of  this  year 
Price,  delivery,  and  specifications  are  preliminary,  and  are  subiect  to 
change  without  notice. 

Additional  future  options  include  printers,  acoustic  couplers,  temperature 
and  light  controls,  telephone  dialers,  disks.  Selectric  interface,  digital  tape 
decks,  and  of  course,  extensive  software 

Priority  Delivery 

As  the  value  leader  in  mini  and  micro  computers  we  placed  a large  order 
early  and  have  the  Arcade’"  in  stock  for  immediate  shipment  while  supplies 
last.  Orders  will  be  strictly  processed  in  the  order  received  Priority  of 
shipment  ot  expansion  packages  will  be  based  on  the  date  of  order  of  the 
Arcade’"  so  order  now  Phone  orders  accepted. 

No  Risk.  If  after  10  days  you're  not  100%  satisfied,  for  any  reason, 
just  return  the  computer  with  all  accessories  for  a full  refund. 

Name 


Address 


City,  State.  Zip. 


1A48 


Quantity 

Description 

Each 

Total 

Bally  Arcade 

$299.95 

Tiny  Basic  option 

49.95 

TERMS  ANO  CONDITIONS.  Ail  oiitm  mull  be  signed  by 
«n  Jutnorued  person  Equipment  may  he  purchased  by 
cash  o*  credit  For  rwsi  3D  oa y»  apprqyed  open  account 
Customer*  mult  Ml  Out  C»a< J •*  application  toelp*  FOB 
'.hipping  pcmt  shipment-.  n»i*l  be  ntu'ed  ♦«*  lull  yaiue 
customer  ippons-bhr  lor  seining  transit  damage  claims 
Pnc**  and  specifications  sublet  10  change  enihoul 
notice  NCE  masc»  no  *a*ran»y  joiner  than  that  staled  m 
C atalogl  yyitn  respect  to  merchantability  or  Mmrs*  o>  sa< 
material  tor  any  particular  purpose  NCE  shall  not  be 
nabie  'or  consequential  damages 


Mich  residents 
add  4%  Sales  Tax 


Total  Amount 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  88 


INTERFACE  AGE  107 


MICRO  PiGE 

WHOLESALE 

The  country's  largest  independent  wholesaler  of 
microcomputer  equipment,  including  mainframes,  ter 
minals,  printers,  memory,  disc  systems,  3 ’100  boards 
and  other  peripherals. 


One  call  buying  for  your  inventory  needs.  Fast,  person- 
alized service  for  the  retailer  or  OEM. 


Call  Jim,  Nana  or  Bonn  today,  or  write  for  our  confi- 
dential wholesale  price  list.  Available  only  to  qualified 
OEM  or  retailers* 

MICRO  AGE 

WHOLESALE 

1 425  W*  12th  Place  #101 
Tempe,  Arizona  85281 
(602)  967-1421 


f 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO*  76 


Presenting  a growing  lino  of 
professional  quality 


iMSAU  ALTAI  R 


S-100 

COMPATIBLE 


BOARDS 


8K  BLANK  RAM  BOARD  Pdf  JirciypK  msmorY  $25.00 

-Willi  MEM0HI  PaOIECT/UNPflOTECr  mil  SELECTS  Sit  Will  STATES 

Z-80  CPU  BOARD  $35.00 

-mill  PROVISIONS  Im  ONBOARD  770B  and  POWER  ON  JUMP 


PR0T0B0ARD 


$25.00 


(new)  2708/16  EPROM  BOARD  $25.00 

—accepts  up  to  TGK  n-1  2708‘s  nr  32K  el  27l6's. 

All  hdarus  mature 

FULL  BUFFERING  on  ALL  DATA  and  ADDRESS  LINES T 
SOLDER  MASKS  and  SILK  SCREEN1 
DIP  SWITCH  ADDRESSING1 
GOLD  EDGE  CONNECTORS 
PLATED  THROUGH  HOLES 

’fltcept  tar  PR0T06OAHD 


WATCH  FOR  OUR  16/G4K  DYNAMIC  RAM  BOARD  AND 
ADDITIONAL  BOARDS  TO  BE  ANNQUNCEO  FORTHWITH. 
Q 


IMSAI  8080  Kit 

—with  22  Slot  M B. 


$560.oo 


PIUS  S 10.00  SHIPPING 


Z-80  cpu  CHIP $22.00 

Z-80  A cpu  CHIP $25.00 

2708  CHIP. $12.00 

PLEASE  ADO  *ZOT  SHIPPING  P£fl  ORDER 


Mm  aio 


PO  BOX  91 
ITHACA,  N.Y*  14850 


PLEASE  CALL  (607)  273-3271 
TO  ORDER  OR  OBTAIN  TECHNICAL  ASSISTANCE. 

OEM  and.  ifiucitlty  dlLCfruilftE  avails  We 


The  housing  consists  of  an  aluminum  "Bud”  box  5"  x 
9”  x 12"  and  a card  cage  91/2”  x 9Y2”  x 6”  with  6 slots  of 
which  only  4 are  currently  being  used,  "Bud”  box 
houses  the  transceiver  and  demodulator;  the  case  cage 
holds  the  VF  decoders,  limiters  and  matrix  relays.  The 
physical  arrangement  of  these  electronic  components 
helped  considerably  in  shortening  lead  lengths  and  time 
in  wiring.  Standard  28-pin  Vector  644  printed  circuit 
board  connectors  were  used  in  the  card  cage. 

Using  the  audible  coded  voice  frequency  tones  has 
significant  advantages*  First  the  response  time  is 
quicker,  second  a manual  override  or  umbilical  cord 
with  a manual  control  box,  using  the  same  VF  tones,  is 
plugged  into  the  circuit  just  ahead  of  the  decoder*  This 
has  many  advantages.  If  you  lose  the  RF  you  can  still  get 
away  with  the  umbilical  cord.  Admittedly  not  as  attrac- 
tive a proposition  as  the  mystical  RC  approach;  however, 
it  doesn't  leave  you  in  the  embarrassing  position  of  non- 
operation during  demonstrations*  Murphy’s  law  always 

. . .however,  it  doesn’t  leave  you 
in  the  embarrassing  position 
of  non-operation  during 
demonstrations.  Murphy’s  law 
always  applies  in  robotics. 


A soon  to  be  installed  microprocessor  (8080)  with  maxi- 
mum memory  will  give  complete  autonomy  to  Gronk. 

This  time  the  autonomy  will  be  built  in,  not  evolved  as 
previously  experienced  with  Robbie*  The  microprocessor 
will,  under  discrete  instructions,  control  the  functions 
of  the  robot  (hopefully)*  The  output  interface  will 
generate  VF  tones  the  same  as  those  received  by  the 
manual  override  and  from  the  demodulated  RF,  thereby 
simplifying  the  control  process.  Also,  a sensor  input 
(probably  micro  switch  or  other  discrete  input)  will  pro- 
vide control  input  to  the  micro,  whose  instruction  reper- 
toire will  include  a series  of  instructions  so  that  true 
stimulus/response  action  can  be  provided  autonomously* 
Other  laws  of  engineering  similar  to  that  of  Murphy's 
will  probably  apply  here. 

The  robot's  voice  is  provided  through  a separate  chan- 
nel using  the  RS  FM  91  Wireless  Microphone  to  a RS 
12-609  receiver.  The  obvious  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages are  capitalized  on,  using  separate  channels. 

At  present  Gronk  has  the  following  features: 

1)  Moves  forward,  reverse,  left,  right,  counter  clock- 
wise and  clockwise  about  its  vertical  axis* 

2)  Flashing  collar  lights  (marquee  style). 

3)  Modulated  voice  light  (colororgan  principle). 

4}  Smoking  ears*  Pipes  out  the  top. 

Gronk’s  arms  are  made  from  dryer  venting  hose  with 
rubber  gloves  stuffed  with  cotton  for  hands.  These  are 
not  controlled  as  yet*  The  dome  Is  a hemispherical  bub- 
ble, obtained  from  a local  plastics  manufacturer* 

Both  Robbie  and  Gronk  were  built  for  entertainment  pun 
poses*  Because  of  my  background  and  interest,  I found  it 
challenging  and  interesting  to  put  what  little  creative 
talent  I have  to  work  for  entertainment  purposes. 

What  good  is  he?! 

What  good  is  a new  born  baby?  □ 


Since  Keith  has  gotten  your  interest  up,  you  might 
want  to  share  some  of  your  experiences  with  him , or 
possibly  find  out  how  Robbie  and  Gronk  are  doing.  To 
contact  Keith  write  to;  Keith  Paul t 112  Wareside  Road , 
Etobicoke,  Ontario t M9C3B6,  Canada . 

—Editor 


10$  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  84 


APRIL  1978 


OPENING  SOON: 

COMPUTER  COMPONENTS 
OF  ORANGE  COUNTY 

(FORMERLY  COMPUTER  PLAYGROUND) 

• PRODUCTS  TO  BE  CARRIED:  IMSAI,  VECTOR  GRAPHICS,  APPLE, 

TDL,  POLYMORPHIC,  PROCESSOR  TECHNOLOGY,  CROMENCO, 
PERSCI,  CENTRONICS,  TARBELL,  VISTA,  SHUGART,  NORTH  STAR, 
HURISTICS,  COMPUTER  WORLD,  KOYO  MONITORS,  KIM,  MICRO- 
DESIGN AND  MANY  AAANY  MORE 

• OUR  NEW  LOCATION  IS  NEXT  DOOR  FROM  WHERE  WE 
PRESENTLY  ARE. 

• WE  WILL  BE  THE  LARGEST  (OVER  5000  SQUARE  FEET)  AND 
MOST  COMPLETE  COMPUTER  STORE  IN  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 

• BROWSE  THROUGH  THE  LARGEST  MICROCOMPUTER  BOOK 
AND  MAGAZINE  COLLECTION  ON  THE  WEST  COAST. 

• WE  ALSO  TEACH  CLASSES  IN  BASIC  AND  ASSEMBLY  LANGUAGE 
AS  WELL  AS  PROVIDE  SERVICE  AND  REPAIR. 

• WATCH  FOR  OUR  GRAND  OPENING  BONANZA  SALE.  COME 

AND  VISIT  OUR  STORE  AND  SAVE  ($$$($($$ 

Computer  Components 
of  Oronge  County 
6791  Westminster  Ave. 
Westminster,  Colif.  92706 
(714)  696-8000 

Other  Computer  Component 
Stores  Located  at: 

• 5846  Sepulveda  Bivd. 

Von  Nuys,  CA  91 41 1 
(213)786-7411 

• 4705  Artesia  Blvd. 
Lawndale,  CA  90260 
(213)370-4842 

INTERFACE  AGE  109 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  79 


The  8085  in  Robot  Design 

By  Frank  Da  Costa 


One  of  the  more  unusual  avenues  open  to  the  adven- 
turous electronics  experimenter  is  the  building  of 
robots.  A natural  outgrowth  of  the  Home  Computing 
Revolution,  the  field  of  robotics  has  virtually  stepped 
out  of  the  pages  of  science  fiction  and  into  the  work- 
shops of  hobbyists. 

Now,  robotics  is  not  exactly  new.  One  need  only 
marvel  at  some  of  the  Audio-Animatronic  creaions  of  the 
Disney  staff  to  realize  that  much  has  been  accomplished 
in  terms  of  the  mechanical  configuration  of  robots. 

What  is  recent,  however,  is  the  technical  advance 
leading  to  the  development  of  a complex  control  system 
for  the  robot,  a brain.  The  Disney  automatons  are  run  by 
pretaped  programs  and  are  thus  incapable  of  making 
decisions  on  any  level.  Computers  can  decide,  but  try  to 
pack  a roomful  of  equipment  into  a mobile  robot  body! 

But  we  all  know  the  story.  The  advent  of  the  micropro- 
cessor combined  complex  decision-making  and  high- 
speed control  with  small  size  and  low  power.  Micropro- 
cessors now  pop  up  in  everything  from  TV  games  to 
kitchen  blenders.  And  somewhere,  from  the  homes  of 
countless  frustrated  roboticists,  came  a corporate  sigh 
of  relief.  There  was  hope  after  all  for  the  Robot. 

But  It’s  not  as  simple  as  all  that  just  yet.  There  are 
considerations.  First  of  all,  a robot  generally  operates 
on  a battery  supply.  Thus,  there  are  limitations  on  how 
much  memory,  how  much  170  — in  short,  how  much 
power  one  may  use.  Second,  size  is  still  a factor.  Six 
memory  cards  will  not  fit  into  a robot  mouse.  And  third, 
the  market  abounds  with  microprocessors  and  support 
chips.  8O80A,  6800,  6502,  2650,  each  have  strengths  and 
weaknesses,  so  which  will  you  choose? 

Here's  where  ! show  my  bias,  hopefully  with  due  evi- 
dence. In  terms  of  flexibility,  instruction  set,  software 
availability,  peripheral  support,  and  even  cost,  the  8080A 
is  still  pretty  much  Number  One.  The  Z-8G  variation  is  a 
close  second,  but  the  cost  is  not  yet  down. 

A straight  8080A  design,  though,  has  a few  complica- 
tions for  the  roboticist.  First,  the  8080A  chip  is  not  suffi- 
cient unto  itself.  To  be  of  much  worth,  one  needs  the  In- 
tel 8224  clock  chip  and  the  8228  Systems  Controller,  or 
their  equivalents.  That  means  extra  wiring,  but  more  sig- 
nificantly, stiffer  power  demands.  Second,  the  8080A  re- 
quires + 12,  + 5,  and  - 5 supplies.  Granted  the  - 5 sup- 
ply is  miniscule,  but  it  would  be  preferable  if  the  roboti- 
cist could  design  around  a single  battery  supply.  (The 
poor  soul  who  uses  1702  EPROMs  also  has  a - 9 supply 
to  contend  with.)  Other  0080A  drawbacks,  such  as  inter- 
rupt complexities,  could  be  raised  as  well,  but  the  first 
two  are  enough  to  give  pause. 

it  was  only  a matter  of  time  before  Intel  came  through. 
Early  in  1977  they  first  sampled  their  new  8085  micropro- 
cessor chip,  which  promises  to  be  the  microcomputer 
designer's  dream. 

The  8085  is  basically  an  8080A  as  far  as  logical  archi- 
tecture is  concerned  — the  same  registers,  the  same  ad- 
dressing capability,  and  essentially  the  same  instruc- 
tion set  as  before.  But  significant  improvements  have 
been  instituted,  improvements  which  may  benefit  the 
robot  designer. 

First,  the  8085  contains  its  own  clock  and  systems 
controller.  Add  a crystal  and  a simple  reset  network  and 
youTe  ready  to  go,  with  all  necessary  waveforms  inter- 
nally generated.  This  means  lower  component  count  and 


easier  hook-up.  The  8085  uses  roughly  the  same  power 
as  the  8080A,  even  though  it  performs  the  functions  of 
the  original  three-chip  set.  Practically,  this  amounts  to  a 
savings  of  sixty-some-odd  percent  power  usage. 

Second,  the  8085  is  single-supply:  +5  volts.  That  is, 
your  robot  only  needs  a single-voltage  battery  supply, 
(no  tapped  batteries  or  power  inverters).  In  this  respect, 
Intel  has  sort  of  “caught  up"  with  the  single-supply 
philosophy  of  some  other  microprocessors,  such  as  the 
6800  and  the  Z-80. 

But  there's  more.  The  8085  has  improved  Interrupt 
capability.  The  original  8080A  required  that  an  interrupt 
instruction  be  more  or  less  “jammed  onto"  the  data  bus. 
The  8085,  however,  also  has  a set  of  four  on-chip,  priori- 
tized vectored  interrupts.  Three  of  these  are  software- 
maskable,  and  all  are  certainly  much  easier  to  imple- 
ment in  a robotic  system  than  the  earlier  approach. 

Another  helpful  addition  is  a pair  of  pins  for  serial  in- 
put and  output  data,  labeled  SID  and  SOD.  Though  these 
are  more  applicable  to  standard  microcomputer  sys- 
tems, as  basic  interface  to  a TTY,  CRT  or  cassette, 
roboticists  can  certainly  find  some  uses  for  the  extra  I/O 
bit.  And,  after  all,  what  if  you'd  like  to  program  your 
robot  serially,  from  a tape  deck  or  even  another  micro* 
computer  keyboard?  The  serial  data  port  is  an  ideal  way 
to  “get  into”  the  microprocessor  without  stealing  word* 
space  from  an  external  I/O  chip. 

Now  just  a brief  word  about  some  new  8085-oriented 
peripheral  ICs+  Intel  has  also  announced  the  first  offer- 
ing of  two  new  40-pin  multi-function  chips  which,  to- 
gether with  the  8085,  form  a basic  minimum  microcom- 
puter system.  One  of  the  chips  is  the  8755,  a combina- 
tion of  IK  bytes  of  EPROM  and  16  software-program- 
mable I/O  lines.  The  other  chip  is  the  8155,  which  con* 
sists  of  256  bytes  of  static  RAM,  22  programmable  I/O 
lines,  and  a 14-bit  programmable  timer-counter. 

So  far,  the  cost  of  the  8755  EPROM-I/O  bug  is  still  up 
there.  But  the  roboticists  may  want  to  consider  using 
one  or  more  inexpensive  8155  chips  and  go  with  an  all- 
RAM  system.  Or  if  that  seems  amateurish,  you  can  use 
the  8155  and  add  a standard  EPROM,  such  as  an  8708,  as  a 
non-volatile  bootstrap  or  program  monitor.  The  8085  can 
handle  all  the  earlier  8080A  memories  and  peripherals. 

Does  this  all  sound  a bit  too  rosy?  Well,  let’s  be 
honest;  the  8085  does  pose  a few  possible  drawbacks. 
First,  Intel  made  one  semi-major  design  change  from 
8 080 A to  8085:  they  multiplexed  the  data  lines  with  the 
lower  eight  address  bits,  and  provided  a strobe  pin  to 
separate  the  two.  (The  main  reason  for  this  was  to  free 
pins  for  additional  features.)  This  means  adding  an  8-bit 
latch  to  extract  address  from  data  it  you  plan  to  use 
standard  memories  or  peripheral  devices.  (The  new  8755 
and  8155  chips  have  a built-in  address  latch  for  this  pur- 
pose.) For  roboticists,  it  boils  down  either  to  an  added 
component,  or  using  the  new  chips.  Take  note,  though. 
If  your  robot  would  require  a fairly  large  memory,  you’d 
probably  need  the  extra  latch  anyway  — or  some  sort  of 
bus  driver  — to  handle  the  added  load.  So  only 
designers  of  smaller-scale  robot  systems  need  to  give 
this  dilemma  much  thought. 

A second  possible  drawback  involves  the  I/O  portions 
of  the  8155  and  8755*  The  ports  associated  with  the  new 
chips  are  essentially  memory-mapped.  Some  may  see 
this  as  an  advantage,  but  it’s  all  a matter  of  viewpoint. 


110  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


AO  ■ AO, 

et-DinECTiOMAl 

A0DttF£E.a*Tfr  BU5 


Figure  1.  8085  CPU  Functional  Block  Diagram.  Reprinted 
by  courtesy  of  Intel  Corporation,  Copyright  1977. 


Treating  I/O  as  memory  in  either  the  8Q80A  or  8085  sys- 
tem means  a reduction  of  available  memory  addressing, 
plus  the  additional  tedium  of  using  3-byte  memory-fetch 
instructions  instead  of  standard  2-byte  I/O  instructions. 
But  the  8085  addressable  memory  field,  when  decoded, 
is  so  vast  anyway  — 64K  bytes  — that  this  may  be  no 
problem.  It  largely  depends  on  the  orientation  of  the 
specific  robot  design  — does  it  need  lots  of  memory  or 
lots  of  I/O? 

A final  difficulty  at  present  is  availability.  The  8085s 
are  relatively  new  and  thus  somewhat  tough  to  get  hold 
of.  But,  given  time,  they'll  be  covering  the  countryside.  It 
might  be  wise  to  pick  up  on  Intel’s  8085  literature,  and 
perhaps  even  to  design  your  robot  around  the  chip  sight 
unseen.  (The  literature  is  quite  lucid  as  to  the  cap- 
abilities and  applications  of  the  '85,  even  providing 
some  sample  schematics.}  Chip  cost  even  this  early  in 
the  game  is  relatively  low,  but  if  you  design  now  and  buy 
later,  chances  are  that  you’ll  save  some  cash  when 
they're  more  common. 

Building  a robot  is  not  like  building  a hi-fi  kit.  Plenty  of 
consideration,  and  perspiration,  will  be  spent  in  the 
mechmechanical  design  and  construction  aspects.  The 
simpler  it  is  to  design  the  Bratn,  the  more  time  can  be 
put  into  the  integration  of  Brain  and  Body.  This  is  not  to 
say  that  the  control  circuitry  is  unimportant.  But  If  the 
central  processor  is  a bear  to  wire  up,  or  a bear  to  supply 
power  to,  there’ll  be  added  frustration  to  the  already- 
overworked  roboticist. 

The  8085  seems  to  be  an  ideal  solution.  It  is  sophisti- 
cated, yet  simple.  It  has  all  of  the  logical  power  of  the 
8080A,  plus  some,  and  yet  It  is  free  of  the  major  com- 
plications. In  short,  it  is  “state-of-the-art,”  and  after  all 
can  we  afford  to  have  less  than  that  in  our  robots?Cl 

For  those  of  you  wishing  further  information  on  this 
articte,  or  on  the  other  two  appearing  in  this  issue , you 
can  contact  the  author  by  writing  to:  Frank  Da  Costa , 
70930  N.W,  14th  Avenue , #A-73,  Miami t FL  33167. 

— Editor 


Figure  2.  8085  Minimum  Component  Count  Microcom- 
puter. Reprinted  by  courtesy  of  Intel  Corporation,  Copy- 
right 1977- 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  111 


A Vocal  Interface 
for  Your  Robot 

By  Frank  Da  Costa 


If  I mention  the  word  “robot,”  the  phrase  “the  perfect 
mechanical  servant"  may  come  to  mind.  You  envision 
the  Man  of  the  House  asking  his  household  robot  to 
fetch  his  pipe  and  slippers,  or  Mother  asking  it  to  wash 
the  dishes.  And  it  complies  promptly,  for  it  is  a robot  — 
it  does  what  it  is  told. 

Unfortunately,  the  real  life  experimental  robots  of  to- 
day are  far  from  this  ideal.  You  may  tell  one  to  wash  the 
dishes,  but  it  will  stare  back  at  you  with  a quizzical  look 
on  its  faceplate.  Reason:  it  doesn’t  know  the  language. 
“Punch  my  ASCII  keyboard,”  it  might  say,  “or  feed  me 
paper  tape,  or  play  me  some  serial  data  at  a kilobaud  or 
two.  But  don’t  talk  to  me  — I can’t  hack  it.” 

Now  there’s  no  real  drawback  to  using  a little  remote- 
control  box  with  switches  and  such,  but  you’ve  got  to 
have  it  with  you  all  the  time.  The  ideal  situation  is  to 
enable  your  robot  to  interface  to  the  human  voice.  Alas, 
though,  speech  recognition  interface  cards  are  still 
quite  expensive.  And  robot-builders  are  notoriously 
short  of  large  working  capital. 

Here  is  a relatively  simple  vocal  interface  which  can 
be  used  to  convey  4 or  8-bit  chunks  of  data  to  your  robot 
or  personal  computer  system.  It’s  a far  cry  from  the 
English  language,  but  it’s  affordable  and  quite  effective. 

The  input  to  the  Vocal  Interface  is  a series  of  musical 
notes,  hummed  by  the  human  operator.  Now,  if  you  can’t 
carry  a tune  in  a wheelbarrow,  don’t  worry.  All  that  is  re- 
quired is  to  know  when  a note  is  higher  or  lower  in  pitch 
than  another  one. 

The  operator  hums  a note  — it  doesn’t  matter  what  pitch 
it  is.  Then  he  hums  a series  of  four  (or  eight)  note,  corre- 
sponding to  bits  in  a byte  of  data.  If  he  wishes  a “1,”  he 
hums  higher  than  his  first  note.  If  he  wishes  a “0,”  he  hums 
lower  than  the  first  note.  The  system  is  self-synchroniz- 
ing, so  that  the  time  length  of  each  note  is  not  critical, 
within  a certain  maximum  limit.  A second  or  two  of  si- 
lence in  between  each  note  allows  the  synchronization. 

It’s  clear  that  the  operator’s  musical  abilities,  (or 
disabilities),  have  little  bearing  on  the  circuit.  He  need 
not  know  what  key  he’s  in,  or  what  musical  intervals 
he’s  forming,  or  exactly  how  long  he’s  humming.  He  just 
needs  to  hum  higher  or  lower  than  his  first  note,  as 
much  higher  or  lower  as  he  cares  to  hum. 

The  Vocal  Interface  described  here  is  for  four  bits  of 
data,  and  can  be  expanded  to  8 bits  with  very  little  extra 
wiring.  The  4-bit  version  is  easier,  since  it’s  easier  to 
keep  track  of  five  notes  (a  first  note  and  four  bit  notes) 
than  the  nine  notes  of  the  8-bit  version. 

The  entire  circuit  is  shown  in  Figure  1.  Notice  the  out- 
puts at  the  far  right:  a 4-  or  8-bit  parallel  output  port,  and 
a data  valid  flag  bit.  The  input  is  an  inexpensive  crystal 
lapel  microphone. 

The  timing  circuit,  consisting  of  the  555  timer  and  the 
74123  dual  one-shot,  presides  over  a simple  frequency- 
latching arrangement.  Input  notes  are  converted  to 


square  waves  by  a 311  comparator,  which  are  used  to 
clock  a pair  of  7493  binary  counters.  Every  Vio  of  a sec- 
ond, the  resulting  count  is  latched  and  the  counters  are 
cleared.  Thus,  the  latches  maintain  a running  record  of 
input  frequency.  Since  the  highest  count  of  the  two 
7493’s  is  255,  the  highest  reliable  input  frequency  is  255 
divided  by  fto  sec,  or  1275  Hz  — which  is  about  a D#,  two 
octaves  above  middle  C,  a fairly  high  note  for  a female. 

. .feed  me  paper  tape,  or 
play  me  some  serial  data  at  a 
kilobaud  or  two.  But  don’t 
talk  to  me  — I can’t  hack  it.” 

A 3-Input  NAND  gate  is  wired  to  function  as  an  OR 
gate,  to  indicate  whenever  the  frequency  latch  number 
exceeds  32,  the  equivalent  of  160  Hz,  about  an  E,  two  oc- 
taves below  middle  C.  Thus,  this  gate  is  low  in  condi- 
tions of  silence  or  low  frequency  ambient,  but  goes  high 
during  frequencies  between  160  and  1275  Hz. 

The  gate  triggers  a one-shot  (V2  of  a 74123),  which  in- 
dicates reception  of  the  first  note.  If  no  second  note  is 
received  within  5 seconds  to  re-trigger  the  one-shot,  it 
will  time  out,  returning  the  circuit  to  its  passive  ready 
state.  In  application,  the  operator  cannot  allow  any 
longer  than  5 seconds  to  elapse  between  each  note,  or 
else  the  circuit  will  reset.  This  feature  prevents  one-time 
bursts  of  frequency  from  being  considered  as  data  input. 

One  7474  flip-flop  is  kept  cleared  by  the  one-shot  until 
reception  of  a chain  of  notes.  The  first  note  leaves  the 
flip-flop  unaffected,  until  the  note  drops  to  silence, 
which  clocks  the  flip-flop  on  the  inverted  edge  of  the 
3-Input  NAND  gate  output.  The  flip-flop  is  used  to  con- 
trol the  gating  which  separates  the  first  note  from  the 
subsequent  bit  notes. 

The  NAND  gate  output  is  gated  to  one  of  two  places, 
depending  on  the  state  of  the  flip-flop.  On  the  first  note, 
it  is  gated  to  latch  the  frequency  word  into  a secondary 
pair  of  latches  for  temporary  storage.  (This  becomes  a 
reference  number,  the  first  note.)  On  the  subsequent 
notes,  the  level  is  gated  to  clock  an  8-bit  shift  register, 
which  is  being  loaded  by  the  output  of  a pair  of  7485 
magnitude  comparators.  The  magnitude  comparators 
compare  the  latched  first  note  number  with  the  new  in- 
coming bit  note,  and  output  a “1”  if  the  new  note- 
number  is  larger,  and  a “O’’  if  not  larger. 

Let’s  review  a bit.  A basic  frequency-counter  circuit  is 
always  latching  fto  sec  samples  of  an  input  frequency. 


112  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


■ (5  m t Q 

i ^ 5 ® S a. 

i 5 m m § £ f % 

) O <17  tt  □ 05  h > _ 

<T)  rc 

t- 

C5^NPH.co5l-*“iQ"  m 

t4.h-.r^h,s.h^ri'h-intO  a 


Figure  1.  Vocal  Interface  Unit.  Connections  noted  in  dashed  lines  may  be  used  to  expand  the  basic  unit  from  a 4-bit  to  an  8-bit  capacity. 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  113 


Tired  ol  BASIC? 
flood  mere  /peed? 
Try  FORTRAN-80 

• SOSO  based 

• A IMS  I standard 

• very  fast 

•runs  with  C P/IVI  floppy  OOS 

funny  soimds 

927-b  e.  las  tunas  dr. 
san  gabrieli  calif,  91775 

(213)  E87-1811 

niiu'tx%3rryjutere 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  92 


The  first  note  received  which  exceeds  a 160  Hz 
threshold  is  latched  secondarily  as  a reference;  every 
succeeding  note  is  compared  to  it,  which  comparison 
determines  the  loading  of  an  8-btt  shift  register. 

The  clocking  of  the  shift  register  also  clocks  a 7493 
counter  to  keep  track  of  the  number  of  bits  stored. 
When  the  7493  reaches  ,l4T’  or  “8,”  its  output  line  (either 
£tC”  or  LiD")  is  used  to  reset  the  one-shot  and  flip-flop  in 
readiness  for  a new  series  of  notes,  and  to  set  a Data 
Valid  flip-flop.  (The  Data  Valid  flip-flop  is  cleared  during 
reception  of  a new  sequence  of  notes.) 

The  Vocal  Interface  Unit  can  convey  data  of  all  sorts 
to  the  robot.  If  the  robot  is  based,  say,  on  an  8080  micro- 
processor, the  program  could  wait  for  reception  of  two 
8-blt  words  from  the  Interface  Unit  and  use  these  as  the 
address  to  a subroutine  which  you  desire  to  be  performed. 

It  may  take  you  a while  to  get  the  hang  of  using  the 
Vocal  Interface  Unit,  but  here  are  a couple  of  guidelines 
to  ease  the  pain. 

1.  Hum  or  "la"  your  first  note  at  a comfortable  pitch, 
one  which  is  in  the  middle  of  your  voice  range,  so 
that  it  won't  be  difficult  to  follow  with  higher  or 
lower  notes. 

2,  Hum  or  “lan  your  notes  for  around  one  second  per 
note  and  allow  a silent  space  of  about  one  second 
between  notes.  Remember  that  5 seconds  fs  the 
limit  for  each  note  with  its  following  moment  of 
silence. 

Robots,  ideally,  are  meant  to  be  largely  autonomous 
in  nature.  Controlling  a robot  via  a control  box  gives  the 
impression  of  a puppet  on  a string.  A vocally-controlled 
robot,  though,  gives  the  impression,  and  in  part  the  real- 
ity, of  a higher  degree  of  autonomy.  This  Vocal  Interface 
Unit  can  be  used  effectively  to  advance  your  persona! 
robot  project  one  step  closer  to  this  lofty  goal.D 


RONDURE  COMPANY 


‘ V 

/I  rill®! 

2522  BUTLER  ST,  * DALLAS.  TEXAS  75235  • 214  630  4621 

ASCII  SELECTRIC 


TRENDATA  1000 
Used  working  $775.00 
Used  working  $930.00 
(Factory  refurb) 

(30  day  warranty) 


HARDWARE 

4IBM 


A SCH  CODE  CONVERSION  iPa^llL-l  Recede  Only  I Qfl 

Sulfif.lric  Mectianrsn.  Ho&vy  Duly  Ti&ntlnilJ  Eleci  \ 


SPECIFICATIONS 
Printer  Mechanism:  Heavy 
duty  Input/output,  Series 
745 

Weight:  Approximately 
120  lbs. 

Dimensions:  29" H x 35"W  x 
33"D 

Print  Speed:  (14.8  charac- 
ters per  second 
Piaten:  15"  wide,  pin  feed 
or  form  feed  device  optional 
(132  print  positions) 

Code  Set:  IBM  2741  com- 
patible, Keyboard  available 
in  correspondence  code 


ASCII  ELECTRONICS 

We  can  provide  a PC  Board 
to  replace  the  internal  elec- 
tronics PC  Board  that  works 
with  the  ASCII  Character 
Set. 

$225.00 

Parallel  output  only— 15 
characters  per  second 
accepts  7 bit  ASCII 
parallel  w/strobe  & prints 
on  Selectric.  The  unit  still 
works  as  a typewriter  in 
off-line  mode. 


the 

computer 

room 


I 


O 


NOVATION 

DC3102A 

USED 

WORKING 

$150.00 

RS232  Connexion 
300  Baud 


II  990/4 
Single  Board 
16  Bit  Micro 
Computer 
NEW  $250.00 


SHUGART  MINI-FLOPPY  DRIVE 
NEW  PRICE 

$325.00  Each 

MODEL 

SA-400 


ORDERING  INFORMATION: 

We  ship  the  same  day  we  receive  a certified  check  or  money  order, 

Texas  residents  add  5%  sales  lax.  Please  call  M you  have  a question. 

Wrile  for  our  CATALOG  of  many  parts,  terminals,  printers,  etc. 

AH  items  subject  lo  availability.  Your  money  returned  It  we  are  out  Ol  stock. 


SHIPPING  INFORMATION: 

Modems:  $2.00  each:  2 lor  $4.00  UPS 

Small  Items  8 Parts:  $2.0Q/order  less  than  $20.00:  $4,Q0forder  S20.00  lo  £100.00; 
$6.00/order  over  $100,00 

Large  Items  8 Parts:  Specify  Freight  or  Air  Freight  Collect 

Foreign  Orders:  Add  appropriate  freight  or  postage.  Please  specify  exactly  what 

you  wish  by  order  number  or  name  or  both, 

We  now  take  Master  Charge  orders.  Speedy  full  number,  bank  numberand  expira- 
tion date. 


114  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  89 


APRIL  1978 


Computer  Tutorial  — Part  III 

Memories  Remembered 

By  Roger  Edelson,  Hardware  Editor 


We  will  begin  this  month's  discussion  with  a view  of 
core  memory  principles  and  operation.  Core  memories 
store  binary  digits,  without  consuming  electrical  power, 
by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  they  can  be  put  into  two  differ- 
ent states  of  remanent  magnetization.  The  two  states  of 
remanence  are  produced  by  applying  magnetic  fields  of 
opposite  polarity  with  sufficient  strength  to  saturate,  or 
nearly  saturate,  the  material.  Figure  1 shows  these  two 
possible  states  on  the  hysteresis  loop  of  a typical 
square  loop  material  The  fact  that  the  store  information 
will  remain  in  the  core  with  no  application  of  power, 
once  the  initial  state  of  remanence  has  been  established, 
accounts  for  the  non-volatility  of  this  memory  system. 
The  reason  for  using  a rectangular  loop  material  can  be 
seen  from  a glance  at  the  typical  S-H  loop  presented  in 
Figure  1.  Once  a sufficient  magnetic  field  (Hm)  has  been 


applied,  the  magnetic  flux  will  attain  a level  of  Bm.  When 
the  field  is  removed  the  flux  level  will  move  to  Bi,  Subse- 
quent applications  of  a field  Hm  will  move  the  flux  level 
to  Bm  and  back  to  B,.  The  core  will  remain  in  this  rema- 
nent flux  state  so  long  as  a reverse  field  sufficient  to 
switch  the  flux  is  not  applied.  When  a field  of  -Hm  is  ap- 
plied, the  flux  will  move  of  a level  of  -Bm  and  move  to  -Bo 
when  the  field  is  removed.  If  the  core  has  a sense  wind- 
ing on  it,  a considerably  larger  voltage  will  be  produced 
by  the  flux  change  from  Bi  to  -Bo  than  will  be  produced 
when  the  flux  changes  from  -Bo  to  -Bm,  It  is  this  voltage 
that  is  sensed  to  indicate  the  presence  of  a stored  “i.” 
Because  the  core  must  be  switched  to  the  LlCT  state 
when  being  read,  this  type  of  memory  is  referred  to  as  a 
Destructive  Read-Out  (DRO)  memory,  in  a real  life 
memory  the  voltage  from  the  disturbed  cores,  (those 
with  M0fs")  and  the  lead  inductance  produces  a signif i- 
cant  voltage  as  shown  in  Figure  2.  As  the  ‘*0”  output 


V i 

* STUBBING 

POINT 

' I 

«iV 

[ \ \ 1 OUTPUT 

If  o Qtrrpijr 

1 ^ 

jM*L  < 

Figure  2.  Output  voltage  of  sense  winding  in  a plane 
array  of  cores. 

cores  and  the  inductive  voltages  peak  earlier  in  time 
than  the  "I"  voltage,  it  is  possible  to  obtain  a greater 
‘T  to  “G,T  discrimination  by  evaluating  the  signal  at 
some  delayed  time. 


Besides  their  small  size,  one  of  the  advantages  of 
magnetic  cores  is  the  ability  to  easily  wire  up  these 
devices  to  store  large  amounts  of  data.  Figure  3 shows  a 


simplified  diagram  of  the  principle  of  a coincident  cur- 
rent matrix  store.  In  this  design,  a current  (lm/2)  suffi- 
cient to  produce  half  of  the  switching  field,  (Hm),  is  ap- 
plied to  the  one  each  column  and  row  drive  wire.  The 
core  present  at  the  intersection  of  the  selected  row  and 
a ViY'  would  be  stored.  The  other  cores,  which  are 
threaded  by  only  one  energized  wire,  receive  only  half 
this  magnetic  field  strength  and  are  substantially  unaf- 
fected, although  they  are  said  to  be  disturbed.  When 
reading,  the  currents  are  reduced  and  the  output  voltage 
is  sensed  by  the  additional  output  line  threading  each 
core.  This  figure  shows  a plane  of  only  one  digit  of  nine 
words.  There  will  have  to  be  as  many  planes  as  there  are 
digits  (bits)  to  be  stored. 

A more  common  method  of  wiring  a coincident  cur- 
rent drive  matrix  is  shown  in  Figure  4,  and  the  inter- 
connection of  these  planes  in  a stack  is  shown  in  Figure 
5.  This  wiring  method  uses  a more  complex  pattern  for 
the  sense  winding  in  order  to  affect  a greater  cancella- 
tion of  the  output  of  the  disturbed  cores  and  minimize 
the  inductive  coupling  to  the  drive  wires.  When  the 
planes  are  connected  in  this  fashion,  it  is  necessary  for 
some  trick  to  be  used  to  keep  from  storing  the  same  bit 
state  in  all  the  planes.  The  fourth  winding  called  the 
digit,  or  inhibit,  line  performs  this  function.  When  infor- 
mation is  being  written  into  the  cores  a pulse  of  current 
equal,  but  opposite,  to  the  half-wrife  current  in  either  the 
X or  V line  is  applied  to  very  plane  were  a “O'1  is  to  be 
stored.  This  prevents  the  flux  in  the  selected  core  from 
exceeding  Hm/2,  so  the  attempt  to  write  a "I”  is  in- 


APFUL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  115 


Y DRIVE  WIRES 


Figure  4.  Typical  wiring  for  coincident  current  with 
digit/inhibit. 1 


hibited.  Information  in  the  other  cores  in  the  plane  will 
be  unaffected  by  the  digit  pulse  as  it  will  reduce  the 
drive  experienced  by  cores  on  the  selected  row  and  col- 
umn to  zero,  while  the  remainder  of  the  cores  will 
receive  a half-current  pulse  in  the  opposite  direction. 

More  complex  systems  can  be  constructed  using  ad- 
ditional cores  for  eitehr  selection  or  storage.  Systems 
using  the  additional  cores  for  switching  exhibit  less  de- 
pendence on  the  coincident  current  tolerances  at  the 
cost  of  higher  drive  currents  and  more  complexity.  A 
two-core  per-bit  system  using  both  cores  for  storage 
allows  faster  operation  at  the  cost  of  increased  com- 
plexity. In  the  main,  almost  all  practical  core  storage 
systems  are  constructed  using  only  one  core  per  bit;  as 
faster  speeds  were  required,  they  were  achieved  by 
decreasing  the  core  size. 

The  possible  practical  arrangements  of  the  cores  and 
core  planes  is  reasonably  limited  and  well  known.  The 
success  or  failure  of  the  storage  system  really  depends 
on  the  design  of  the  drive,  selection,  and  sense  circuitry. 
It  is  in  this  arena  that  the  ingenuity  of  the  circuit  design- 
er plays  an  important  role.  The  selection  circuits  devel- 
oped are  too  numerous  to  catalog  here,  but  some  of  the 
problems  that  must  be  solved  are:  1)  high  drive  currents, 
2)  variation  of  drive  requirements  with  temperature,  3) 
large  back  voltages  from  the  effect  of  the  core  induct- 
ances, and  4)  fast  switching  speeds.  In  almost  all  new 
core  stores  the  function  of  the  sense  circuitry  is  provid- 
ed by  an  integrated  circuit  sense  amplifier.  The  advent 
of  these  devices  has  greatly  simplified  the  life  of  the 
core  memory  designer. 

Another  way  to  use  information  stored  in  the  square 
loop  of  a magnetic  material  is  to  move  this  magnetized 
medium  under  a sensing  head.  With  this  method  the 
change  in  flux,  which  produces  a voltage  output,  is  accom- 
plished by  physically  moving  the  magnetized  area  rather 
than  switching  the  flux.  For  this  reason  the  stored  flux 
remains  at  the  same  state  as  it  was  prior  to  the  read  opera- 
tion and  the  device  is  a non-destructive  readout  memory. 
This  is  the  principle  behind  the  magnetic  recording  on  all 
moving  memories:  tape,  disks,  or  drums.  The  magnetic 
medium  selected  is  based  on  cost,  system  access  time, 
and  complexity  considerations.  Tape  storage  usually 
has  the  longest  average  latency  time  with  disks  falling 
between  the  tape  drives  and  the  magnetic  drums.  Com- 


X DRIVE  Y DRIVE 
WIRE  WIRE 


j 


i 

Figure  5.  Plane  interconnect  for  coincident  current  with 
digit  plane. 


plexity  and  cost  appears  to  be  the  inverse  of  the  latency 
time.  Drums  saw  great  utility  in  military  aircraft  systems 
because  of  their  ruggedness  and  high  storage  capacity, 
coupled  with  a reasonable  access  time.  The  more  com- 
mon approaches  for  the  micro/minicomputer  field  are 
tapes  (either  cassette  or  7/9  track)  and  floppy  disks. 

No  matter  which  type  of  store  is  selected,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  select  a recording  method  for  providing  informa- 
tion as  to  the  data  being  stored.  Nine  of  the  most  popu- 
lar recording  methods  are  shown  in  Figure  6.  Any  method 

ONE 

nr 

h 

ZERO 

"L 

ZERO 

h 

ONE  1 

, L_y- 
, nnn 

ZTZZ 
a n 

L 1 

A U 

lDFR» 

1 / i Freau«ncy  ShiM  Key 

inn 

TV 

. 1 

»NRZ> 

1 

« r 

1 

r 

iz 

|PE> 

„ r= 

1 

* I 

i 

<ME> 

„ r 

1 ft  » MnriKlod  PM 

ZJ 

(MFM) 

1 1 

n 

— 

1 

. inn 

ti: 

n 

n 

oln 

1 (PWM) 

1 1 1 1 - i Torve  Burst 

utr 

. inn 

CTO 

nn  n n 

in 

nnrr 

J u ™ 

• UUL 

U J U L 

U U J 

u U L (kcw 

Figure  6.  Popular  Recording  Methods. 

could  be  used  with  any  recording  medium,  but  in  prac- 
tice certain  systems  work  better  with  a particular  stor- 
age device.  Cassette  recorders,  because  of  their  lack  of 
speed,  accuracy  and  the  use  of  less  than  optimum  tapes, 
require  a method  which  overcomes  these  limitations. 
The  Kansas  City  Standard  has  achieved  wide  usage  with 
some  systems  which  employ  better  drives,  using  either 
Manchester  or  a modification  of  the  NRZ  system.  Most 
drum  systems  used  wither  NRZ  or  Manchester,  with 


116  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


Manchester  being  the  preferred  system  because  of  its 
self-clocking  nature.  The  7/9  track  tape  drives  use  NRZ 
for  the  lower  character  densities,  and  use  Phase  En- 
coding or  Manchester  at  higher  character  densities. 
Floppy  disks  can  use  either  NRZ  or  the  Phase  Encoding 
Manchester  method.  Let’s  look  at  each  system  briefly: 
Double-Frequency  Recording  (DFR),  is  an  inherently 
self-clocking  scheme  which  is  immune  to  wow  and  flut- 
ter. It  does  not  have  the  magnetic  drift  and  bit  packing 
problem  of  NRZ,  but  requires  a high  bandwidth. 

Frequency  Shift  Keying  (FSK)  is  used  in  most 
modems,  (Modulator-Demodulator),  data  transmission 
systems  because  of  its  noise  and  amplitude  rejection. 
However,  it  is  very  speed  dependent.  It  does  provide  a 
very  good  tape  drop-out  rejection  because  of  the 
number  of  flux  reversals  per  bit.  This  system  is  found 
mostly  in  high  quality  instrumentation  recorders. 

Basically,  you  can  have  it 
IBM’s  way  and  be  compatible 
with  the  rest  of  the  world, 
or  you  can  use  your  own 
format  for  increased  storage 
but  be  restricted  to  your  own 


plicated  encoding  algorithm  "in  order  to  reduce  bit  shift- 
ing problems. 

Pulse  Width  Modulation  (PWM)  is  a scheme  to  adjust 
the  width  of  the  recorded  flux  to  correspond  to  a 1 or  a 0. 
It  is  a patented  process  which  is  self-clocking  and  noise 
and  amplitude-level  tolerant. 

Tone  Burst  (TB)  is  an  extremely  simple  scheme  for 
recording  data;  a 1 is  recorded  as  a burst  of  tone  while  a 
0 is  blank.  It  is  not  self-clocking  and  is  extremely  sensi- 
tive to  amplitude  I eve  I and  noise. 

Kansas  City  Standard  (KCS)  is  the  most  popular 
system  in  the  home  computer  market.  It  is  a mixture  of 
Manchester,  FSK  and  Tone  Burst.  An  8-cycle  burst  of 
2400  Hz  is  used  to  record  a 1 and  4-cycle  burst  of  1200 
Hz  is  a 0.  A phased-lock  loop  can  be  used  to  produce  a 
4800  Hz  clock  from  the  recorded  data.  This  system  is 
reasonably  independent  of  speed  variations,  and  rela- 
tively insensitive  to  amplitude  variations  and  noise.  The 
use  of  multiple  flux  reversals  per  bit  limits  the  packing 
density,  but  reduces  the  possibility  of  tape  drop  outs. 

With  the  exception  of  bubble-memories,  (which  will 
be  covered  much  later),  this  completes  the  survey  of 
magnetic  storage  techniques.  We  have  not  covered  the 
detailed  design  and  formating  specifications  of  the 
tapes  or  disks  because  they  are  somewhat  device  or 
controller  dependent.  Basically  you  can  have  it  IBM’s 
way  and  be  compatible  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  or  you 
can  use  your  own  format  for  increased  storage  but  be 
restricted  to  your  own  system,  or  si  mi  lar  systems. 


system,  or  similar  systems. 


Non-Return-To-Zero  (NRZ)  system,  and  its  brother 
NRZI  (NRZ  Inverted),  have  the  current  in  the  head  in  one 
direction  for  a "1”  and  in  the  opposite  direction  for  a 
"0.”  In  NRZI  the  magnetic  flux  Is  reversed  at  every  "1" 
and  Is  left  unchanged  for  "0’s.”  This  system  requires  an 
extremely  high  bandwidth,  it  must  go  down  to  almost  dc 
because  of  the  lack  of  flux  changes  for  “0's."  It  also  suf- 
fers from  bit  packing  problems  due  to  the  shift  of  the 
“1"  output  peak,  depending  on  the  previous  informa- 
tion, and  from  baseline  shift.  It  Is  not  self-clocking  and 
must  have  an  additional  clock  track  and  read/write  head. 

Phase  Encoding  (PE)  and  Manchester  Encoding  (ME) 
are  two  manifestations  of  the  bi-phase  recording  tech- 
nique. In  an  effort  to  overcome  the  limitations  of  NRZ  a 
scheme  was  developed  in  which  there  was  at  least  one 
flux  change  for  each  recorded  bit,  be  it  a "I"  or  a “0.” 
The  state  of  the  information  determines  the  direction  of 
the  flux  change  and  hence  the  polarity  of  the  output  sig- 
nal. In  PE  the  flux  change  occurs  in  the  middle  of  each 
bit  cell  and  in  ME  it  occurs  at  the  beginning  of  each  bit 
cell.  Both  methods  are  inherently  self-clocking;  there  is 
at  least  one  flux  change  per  bit  with  ME  being  easier  to 
generate  and  decode.  The  required  frequency  of  bi- 
phase recording  is  equal  to  twice  the  bit  rate. 

Modified  FM  (MFM)  was  developed  in  an  attempt  to 
reduce  maximum  of  two  flux  reversals  per  bit  of  bi- 
phase. This  system  requires  the  addition  of  a data  en- 
coding device  to  place  the  flux  reversals  according  to 
the  following  rules;  A 1 is  defined  as  a flux  reversal  at 
the  center  of  the  bit  cell  and  a 0 as  a flux  reversal  at  the 
beginning  of  the  cell  except  when  preceded  by  a 1.  In 
that  case  no  flux  reversal  occurs  during  the  bit  cell  for  a 
zero.  The  system  is  self-clocking  and  can  pack  twice  the 
data  that  can  be  recorded  with  bi -phase.  A companion 
scheme  M*FM  (Modified  Modified  FM)  uses  a more  com- 


Next  month  we  will  take  a look  at  the  semiconductor 
memory  field,  with  coverage  of  RAMs,  ROMs,  PROMs 
and  EPROMs.n 


BITS 


m 


Digital  Group 
I MSA  I 

Industrial  Microsystems 

Lear-Siegter 

Micro  Design 

North  Star 

Okidata 


BTTE5 

SERVES  YOU  WITH: 
PerSci 


Pickles  & Trout 
Poly  MorphEc  Systems 
Solid  State  Music 
Some 
Tarbell 

Technical  Design  Labs 
Vector  Graphic 


BITS  N BYTES 
College  Business  Park 
679  “D"  S.  State  College  Blvd. 
Fullerton,  Calif.  92631 
(714)879-8386 
HOURS: 


Our  Representative  In  San  Diego!  Jim  Farthing 
(7141  421-1041 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  69 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  117 


TEMPOS  Multi-User/Multi-Tasking 
Operating  System 

An  upgraded  version  of  the  time-shared  8080 
operating  system,  TEMPOS  (Timed  Environ* 
merit  Multi-Partitioned  Operating  System),  the 
package  is  designed  to  be  transportable 
among  systems  through  a new  System  Genera- 
tion Routine. 


TEMPOS  has  many  features  of  systems  nor- 
mally found  only  on  much  larger  machines,  for 
example,  batch  processing  simultaneously 
with  interactive  use,  foreground/background 
processing,  true  multi-tasking  (many  different 
jobs/ processes  executing  simultaneously)  and 
an  extensive  array  of  programs. 

For  further  information  and  prices  contact 
Administrative  Systems,  Inc  (A.S,L),  222 
Milwaukee,  Suite  102,  Denver,  CO  80206,  (303) 
321 -2473 l! 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  202 


ANS  68  AND  74  COBOL  COURSE 

Info  3 has  just  published  COBOL  Training, 
an  introductory  course  on  COBOL  program- 
ming. The  course  teaches  the  essentials  of  the 
COSOL  programming  language  to  beginning 
programmers  as  well  as  to  those  who  wish  to 
add  COBOL  to  their  knowledge  of  program- 
ming languages.  Instruction  begins  with  Ihe 
basics  of  encoding  principles,  and  covers  in- 
put characteristics,  program  hierarchy,  and  all 
four  COBOL  divisions.  Both  ANS  68  and  ANS 
74  COBOL  are  covered.a  s well  as  basic  disk 
and  tape  concepts.  Students  encode  arithme- 
tic. logic  and  control  statements,  and  are  able 
to  successfully  write  complete  COBOL  pro- 
grams. 

The  course  materials  consist  of  audio-cas- 
sette instructional  tapes  and  an  accompanying 
workbook.  The  workbook  is  heavily  oriented 
toward  the  response  sections,  which  make  up 
half  of  all  visual  materials.  The  price  Is  $296.00, 
A free  “GOT  Chari”  showing  the  course  Goafs, 
Objectives  and  Tasks,  is  available  from  the 
publisher.  Further  information  is  available 
from  Info  3,  21241  Ventura  B!vd.t  Suite  193, 
Woodland  Hills,  CA  91364,  (800)  423-5205  or 
(213)  999-5753,  Larry  Vermillion. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  166 


HARD  COPY  HARDWARE 

COMPUTER  TEXTile  announces  the  avail- 
ability of  its  line  of  high  quality  hard  copy  hard- 
ware, Computer  Textile  sells  reconditioned 
QUME  and  DIABLO  daisy  wheel  printing  ter- 
minals. These  terminals  feature  30  CPS 
printers,  96  character  keyboards  with  10  key 
numeric  pad,  ASCII  coded,  RS  232  interface. 
Also  256  character  buffer,  user's  and  service 
manual,  with  full  graphics  capability  packaged 


in  a beautiful  beige  cabinet  with  black  and 
chrome  wheeled  pedestal. 

Options  include  45  CPS  and  55  CPS  mechan- 
isms for  some  OUMEs,  other  encodings,  pin 
feed  platen,  tractor  forms  feeder  and  service 
contracts.  Each  terminal  comes  with  a limited 
30  day  warranty.  Quantities  are  limited.  Prices 
from  under  $2,000.  Also  available  are  recondi- 
tioned ADM-1's,  modems  and  paper  tape  punch/ 
readers. 

For  complete  information  contact  COM- 
PUTER TEXTile,  10960  Wilshlre  Blvd.,  Suite 
1504,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024,  (213)  477-2196, 
CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  167 


UNIVERSAL 

MICROCOMPUTER  SYSTEM 

Microsystem  10/10,  consisting  of  two  com- 
plete, ready-to-use,  tape-based  8K  systems,  in- 
cluding two  high  speed  CRTs,  two  keyboards, 
two  dual  tape  units,  operating  software  and 
manuals,  is  priced  at  $5850,  a savings  of  $1850 
over  the  cost  of  two  separate  systems.  This 
price  includes  choice  of  8080,  6800  or  Z-B0 
microprocessor  for  each  half  of  the  system. 


Microsystem  30/30  provides  two  complete 
standard  8"  floppy  disk  based  systems,  each 
with  16K  bytes  of  RAM.  Other  configurations 
combine  32 K QUICKRUN™  tape-based  co- 
resident systems  with  standard  or  mini  floppy 
1GK  systems,  all  at  a substantial  savings  over 
two  separate  systems. 

For  additional  information  contact  Future- 
data  Computer  Corp,,  11205  So,  La  Cienega 
Blvd„  Los  Angeles,  CA  90045,  (213)  641-7700, 
Bob  Schaat. 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  163 


REFERENCE  BOOK  C207 

Microprocessor  interface  Techniques  — 
From  Keyboard  to  Floppy  Disk,  by  Austin 
Lesea  and  Rodnay  Zaks:  One  or  multi-card  im- 
plementations of  microprocessor  interfaces 
are  becoming  obsolete;  one-chip  LSI  compo- 
nents plus  software  may  now  be  used.  Interfac- 
ing has  been  simplified  by  the  new  LSI  compo- 
nents and  related  software  techniques  to  the 
point  where  an  electronics  background  is  no 
longer  required  to  build  a system. 

The  book  takes  you  through  the  complete 
assembly  of  a microprocessor  system: 
assembling  a CPU;  Input-Output  techniques: 
interfacing  to  a keyboard,  LED.  teletype , 
printer,  floppy  diskt  CRT  cassette-tape;  In- 
dus trial  interfacing;  analog-digital  techniques; 
communications;  bussing  and  standards , In - 
cuding  Si  00,  iEEE4BB,  CAM  AC,  A complete 
case-study  is  presented  for  a multi-channel 
communication  system  and  a chapter  is  dedi- 
cated to  trouble-shooting  techniques.  Actual 
interconnects  are  presented  for  a number  of 
microprocessors,  and,  in  particular  the  8080 
and  the  6800, 

Completing  the  discussion  is  a chapter  on 
analog  to  digital  conversion  techniques  and 
products  allowing  many  "real  world”  systems 
to  be  designed  and  interfaced.  For  more  Infor- 


mation contact  Sybex,  2161  Shattuck  Ave., 
Berkeley,  CA  94704,  (415)  848-8233. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  164 


CREATIVE  COMPUTING  CATALOG 

A new  16-page  catalog  from  Creative  Com- 
puting describes  books,  magazines,  games, 
T-shirts,  and  other  items  of  interest  to  the  sea- 
soned computer  professional  as  well  as  the 
beginning  novice. 

Nearly  one  hundred  fascinating,  but  hard  to- 
find,  books  are  offered  on  topics  from  problem 
solving  to  programming  and  from  computer 
games  to  computer  literacy.  Both  British  and 
American  magazines  are  described  as  well  as 
board  games,  posters,  prints  and  T-shirts. 

Earlier  editinos  of  Creative  Computing's 
catalog  have  been  described  by  others  as  "The 
Whole  Earth  Catalog  of  computing,"  and  “the 
most  comprehensive  guide  to  educational  and 
home  computing  available  under  one  cover," 
The  price  Is  right  — FREE.  Get  yours  today. 

For  your  copy  or  more  information  contact 
Creative  Computing,  Attn:  Kim,  P.0  Box 
789-M,  Morristown,  NJ  0796Q. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  165 


GREAT  MAY  PROMOTION 

Spectacular  savings  on  top  quality  data  pro- 
cessing items  offered  form  ANSCO  during  the 
entire  month  of  May,  1978. 

Items  to  be  featured  on  the  “Great  May  Pro- 
motion” will  include  floppy  diskettes,  data 
modules,  disk  cartridges,  computer  tape,  com- 
puter ribbons,  data  processing  labels,  digital 
cassettes  and  a wide  variety  of  systems  for 
convenient  storage  and  retrieval  of  valuable 
media.  A special  focus  will  be  on  IBM,  DEC, 
NCR  and  Honeywell  systems. 

Literature  and  catalogs  will  be  sent  to  all 
regular  ANSCO  customers  in  April,  Special 
“Great  May  Promotion”  catalogs  will  be  for* 
warded  to  interested  readers  upon  request.  All 
orders  will  be  shipped  freight-free  within  48 
hours  of  notification,  and  satisfaction  is 
always  guaranteed. 

For  additional  information  call  American  Na- 
tional Supply  Corporation  toll-free  at  (800) 
421-1270,  or  In  California  call  collect  (213) 
532-7780,  or  write  to  ANSCO,  P.Q.  Box  2259, 
Gardena,  CA  90247, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  160 


METRIC  PRECISION 
COMPONENTS  CATALOG 


The  most  comprehensive  compilation  ol 
metric  system  standardized  precision  mechan- 
ical components  and  assemblies  has  been  pro- 
duced by  PIC  Design  Division  of  Wells-Benrus 
Corporation.  All  items  presented  in  the  catalog 
are  available  for  delivery  immediately  from 
stock. 


The  new  208- page  edition  contains  over 
25,000  components,  covering  24  different  pro- 
duct categories.  Also  included  In  the  catalog 
are  working  prints,  technical  reference  data 
tables,  gear  data,  metric  terms  and  formulas. 


118  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


and  many  other  valuable  design/productfon 
aids. 

For  a free  copy  of  the  new  Metric  Catalog, 
write  PIC  Design  DW.,  Wells-Benrus  Corp.,  P,Q. 
Box  335,  Benrus  Center,  Ridgefield,  CT  06877, 
Attn:  Catalog  Department. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  161 

LOGOS  0KX  8K 
STATIC  MEMORY  BOARD 

Advanced  Computer  Products,  Inc.  has  a 
new  250  ns.  version  of  the  highly  received 
LOGOS  8K  Memory  board. 


The  LOGOS  8KZ  features  complete  buffering 
on  all  data  and  address  fines,  memory  protect 
down  to  256  bytes,  addressing  on  any  IK  boun- 
dary, phantom  line,  battery  back-up,  and  mil 
quality  PC  board  with  silk  screen  and  solder 
mask. 

The  LOGOS  8KZ  is  available  immediately  at 
Si 49.95  Kit  and  $199,95  assembled  and  tested, 
The  LOGOS  8K  is  now  priced  at  $1 25,95  Kit  and 
$179.95  tested  and  assembled.  In  quantity  4 
units  or  more,  reduce  to  $117.00  Kit. 

For  more  information  contact,  Advanced 
Computer  Products,  P.O.  Box  17329,  Irvine,  CA 
92713,  1310  "B"  E,  Edinger,  Santa  Ana,  CA 
92705,  (714)  558-8813 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  174 

AUTOMATIC  RANGE  DPM 

When  signals  exceed  the  set  range  of  IMC's 
300  Series  DPM,  it  can  automatically  shift  to 
the  next  higher  or  lower  range,  protecting  the 
instrument  and  eliminating  external  switching. 


The  Automatic  Range  DPM  offers  four 
ranges:  ±200mV,  ±2V,  ±20V,  and  +2QQV, 
Decimal  points  are  positioned  automatically 
and  step  up/down  response  time  is  360ms.  AH 
control  logic,  shift  registers,  timing  circuits, 
precision  resistors,  and  analog  switches  are 
located  on  a single  RGB  inserted  in  the  DPM 
during  manufacture. 

Price  of  the  Auto  Range  Model  starts  at  $124 
In  1 to  9 quantities.  Delivery  is  stock  to  4 
weeks.  Contact  Dr.  Otto  Fest,  International 
Microtronics  Corporation,  4016  E.  Tennessee 
St.r  Tucson,  AZ  85714,  (602)  748-7900. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  176 

Low-Cost  64K  ROM 

A 65,536-bit  read  only  memory,  requiring 
200m W of  power  typically,  is  being  produced 
in  large  quantities  at  low  cost  by  Rockwell  In- 
ternational. 

Organized  in  an  8l92x8-bit  configuration,  the 
Z88XX  ROM  further  extends  RockwelPs  family 
to  give  users  low  system  cost,  while  providing 
twice  as  much  storage  as  the  company's 


A66XX  ROM,  Applications  for  the  64K  device 
include  cash  registers,  computer  terminals, 
medical  equipment,  accounting  machines, 
games,  equipment  controllers,  and  telephones. 

Most  existing  PPS  systems  can  easily  inter- 
change the  A88X  with  A6G-  A52-  and  AG5- 
ROMs  by  inserting  the  device  directly  into  the 
socket.  The  bus  interface  electronics  included 
on  the  chip  eliminates  board  changing. 

Prototypes  of  the  A88XX  ROM  are  available 
four  weeks  after  ROM  code  approval.  The 
device  sells  for  $12  In  large  volume,  and  $37.65 
in  lots  of  100, 

For  more  information  contact  Rockwell 
International,  Electronics  Devices  Div„  3310 
Mfraloma  Ave„  Anaheim,  CA  92803,  (714) 
632-2321,  Leo  Scanlon,  (213)  386-8776,  Pattie 
Atte  berry. 


f \ 

See  Us  In  Long  Beach 
At  The  Percomp  Show 
April  28-30 

Your  Apple 

and  SWTPCo 
Headquarters 
Add  To  Your  SWTPCo 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  176 

NEW  BYTE  SHOPPER  AVAILABLE 

The  new  1978  edition  of  the  Byte  Shopper,  a 
unique  guide  to  the  fascinating  world  of  per- 
sonal computing,  is  now  available  through 
MicroAge,  The  guide  features  complete 
descriptions  of  microcomputer  systems  that 
meet  the  needs  of  hobbyists  and  businessmen. 


Recognizing  the  need  for  education,  the 
Byte  Shopper  is  also  an  introductory  text  to 
personal  computing,  providing  a glossary  of 
computer  huzz  words,  and  grapic  visualiza- 
tions of  how  microcomputers  work  and  where 
they  can  be  useful. 

The  Byte  Shopper  is  presented  in  a clear  and 
informative  style,  and  includes  over  125  de- 
tailed photographs  of  equipment  from  more 
than  120  manufacturers.  Price  of  the  Byte 
Shopper  is  $3.95.  For  more  information  contact 
MicroAge,  1425  W.  12th  PL,  #101,  Tempe,  A2 
85231 , 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  1£S 


CHART  AND  GRAPH  PAPERS 

The  CODEX  Book  Company  has  a new 
catalog  on  their  complete  line  of  chart  and 
graph  papers.  The  36-page,  4-color  catalog 
shows  almosl  all  of  the  standard  grid  patterns 
in  either  actual  or  one  fifth  size.  Comprehen- 
sive listings  provide  additional  details  such  as 
minor  and  major  accent  intervals,  number  of 
divisions,  and/or  log  cycles,  scale  factors,  and 
time  remarks. 

The  well-organized  catalog  features  details 
on  square-grid  sheets,  time-cycle  sheets,  data 
sheets,  semi-  and  full-logarithmic  sheets,  rec- 
tangular-grid sheets,  meiric  sheets,  miscellan- 
eous sheets  (such  as  polar  coordinate,  circular 
percentage,  separated  sections,  sound,  Gantt 
chart,  probability  chart,  hyperbolic,  trilinear, 
isometric,  Schlink,  geochemical,  vapor-pres- 
sure, nomographs,  and  others)  as  well  as 
custom  sheets. 

Illustrations  show  the  standard  grid  patterns 
In  their  basic  color  of  olive-green,  orange,  blue, 
and/or  black.  There  are  three  standard  sheet 
sizes  {BVzxl  1 ",  ill  GW1,  and  17*22")  and  two 
types  of  standard  paper  stock  (light  and  heavy). 

The  catalog  itself  is  In  the  new  metric  DIN 
A4  size  Of  210x297mm  (8Vj  x IIV),  It  is 
available  free  on  request  to  CODEX  Book  Com- 
pany, 74  Broadway,  Norwood,  MA  02062,  (617) 
769-1050, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  171 


Microworks  Prom  Board  PSB- 
08.  Allows  56K  Memory  in 
Your  SWTPCo..  $119.95 
New!  Disk  Basic  by  Computer 
Ware  for  Smoke  Signal  or 
SWTPCo  Disk  ...  $49.95 

MSI  CP-1W  CPU,  Assembled, 
Runs  at  2MHz  . . $250.00 
In  Stock  Now  . . . Calculator 
Interface,  PR-40  Printer, 
EPROM  Burner,  Interrupt 
Timer,  8K,  16K,  and  32K 
Memory  Boards,  Dual  Floppy 
Disk  ...  All  Available  in  Kit 
Form  or  Assembled.  Call  or 
Write  for  Details. 

Apple  Peripherals 

New  Coresident  Editor  - As- 
sembler with  Labels,  Cassette 
with  Instructions  . . $19.95 
Apple  Prototype 
Boards  . . . $19.95 

Carrying  Cases  for 

Apple $29.95 

SWTPCo  PR-40  Printer,  As- 
sembled with  Interface  and 
Software,  Ready 

to  Run  . . , $399.95 

RF  Modulators,  Assembled 

for  Apple  II  $35.00 

New!  2716  EPROM  Burner. 
Use  Those  Empty  Sockets. 
Assembled  $89.00 


A-VIDD 

electronics  co. 


2210  Bellflower 
Boulevard 
Long  Beach,  CA 
90815 

(213)  598-0444 

VISA  - MASTER- 
CHARGE 

J 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  68 

INTERFACE  AGE  119 


APRIL  1978 


COMPUTER  MAGAZINE  FOR 
THE  SMALL  BUSINESSMAN 

SBC  Magazine — Smalt  Business  Computers 
is  a new  magazine  for  the  businessman  who  is 
considering  the  purchase  of  a small  computer, 
IVs  written  in  non -technical  language  and  em- 
phasizes the  benefits  of  computerization. 

SBC  Magazine  is  a monthly  publication.  For 
more  information  contact  SBC  Magazine,  33 
Watchung  Plaza,  Montclair,  NJ  07042,  (201) 
746-4266,  Gail  Music. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  172 

TCE-124  TALKING  CLOCK 

The  TCE-124  Talking  Clock,  with  a distinc- 
tive male  voice,  automatically  logs  the  time  of 
day  on  their  recording  systems  In  either 
English,  German  or  Arabic, 

The  vocabulary  of  the  talking  clock  is  pro- 
duced electronically  by  a custom  speech  syn- 
thesis micro-controller.  When  used  with  either 
voice  or  device  activated  recorders,  the 
TCE-124  inserts  a clear  distinct  verbal  an- 
nouncement Immediately  following  each 
recorded  message. 

Although  developed  to  be  used  with  Gmni- 
cron  recorders,  the  Talking  Clock  can  be  used 
in  other  applications  where  continuous  or  on- 
demand  time  announcements  are  required.  In 
many  instances  the  TCE-14  will  replace  the  ex- 
pensive time  code  generators  previously  re- 
quired to  electronically  record  the  time  on 
magnetic  tape,  and  eliminates  the  need  for 
special  decoding  equipment  on  playback. 

For  further  information,  contact  Qmnlcron 
Electronics,  P.O.  Box  623,  Putnam,  CT  06260, 
(203)  928-0377. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  173 

BROCHURE  AVAILABLE  ON 
LOW  REFLECTANCE  ELECTRONIC 
READOUT  FILTERS 

SGL  Homallte,  a division  of  SGL  Industries, 
has  available  a two-page  brochure  on  Its  Homa- 
llte™ low-reflectance  display  screens  and 
filters  for  use  with  light  emitting  diodes,  in 
digital  panel  meters,  planar  displays,  liquid 
crystal  displays,  gas  discharge,  and  CRTs, 

The  new  brochure  explains  how  to  improve 
display  readability  as  well  as  resolution  in 
order  to  reduce  gross  distortion,  and  edge  and 
surface  defocusing  Also  featured  are  tech- 
nical charts  and  guidelines  to  the  selection  of 
the  proper  Homallte  low-glare  filter  to  insure 
optimum  readability. 

The  new  brochure  is  free  and  available  by 
contacting  the  SGL  Homallte  plant,  11 
Brookside  Dr.,  Wilmington,  DE  19604,  (302) 
652-3686. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  169 

DISK  BROCHURE 

A new  eight-page  brochure  from  Pertec 
Computer  Corporation's  Pertec  Division, 
Chatsworth,  California,  describes  the  "most 
versatile,  compact,  and  reliable  disk  drives  in 
the  world,'1  The  brochure  highlights  the  major 
features  of  four  flexible  disk  drives  currently 
being  marketed  by  the  division,  largely  on  an 
OEM  basis  — FD410,  FD5X0,  FD511A,  and 
FDS14. 

The  new  brochure  Is  available  from  PCC 
Pertec,  9600  Irondale  Ave.,  Chatsworth,  CA 
91311. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  17C 

VERSATILE  P.O.S.  FINANCIAL 
TRANSACTION  TERMINAL 

A retail  point-of-sale  terminal  that  will  prompt 
the  user  through  a variety  of  financial  trans- 
actions Is  available  from  Concord  Computing 
Corporation  of  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 

The  Concord  800  Modular  Transaction  Ter- 
minal is  a compact,  microprocessor  controlled 
unit  that  enables  a merchant  to  perform  up  to 
16  separate  financial  transactions  at  point  of- 


sale.  Extensive  prompting  leads  the  user, 
either  a store  clerk  or  a customer,  through  the 
steps  involved  with  transactions  such  as  credit 
and  debit  card  authorization,  deposits,  with- 
drawals, transfers  and  check  verification.  Sys- 
tem logic  helps  prevent  errors,  and  minimal 
training  is  required. 

The  Concord  600  Modular  Transaction  Ter- 
minal is  priced  from  $860  without  printer  and 
from  $2000  with  printer,  depending  upon  quan- 
tity and  options  selected. 

For  more  information  contact  Concord  Com- 
puting Corporation,  Irwin  Adams,  Vice  Presi- 
dent, 7 Alfred  Circle,  Bedford,  MA  01730,  {61 7) 
275-1730. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  162 

Facsimile  Systems,  and  DESNET™ 
Universal  Network  Capability 

Anticipating  accelerated  use  of  electronic 
devices  for  urgent  business  communications. 
Graphic  Sciences,  Inc,.  a subsidiary  of  Bur- 
roughs Corporation,  announces  its  dex  1100 
series  and  dex  5100  facsimile  systems  and  a 
universal  facsimile  networking  capability 
known  as  DEXNET-  Employing  the  new  dex 
1100  and  dex  5100  systems,  as  well  as  other 
dex  models  and  even  other  brands  of  equip- 
ment, a DEXNET  facsimile  network  enables 
business  people  to  communicate  a full  page  of 
primed,  handwritten,  pictorial  or  other  graphic 
information  worldwide  at  speeds  ranging  down 
to  as  little  as  20  seconds. 


Because  of  its  speed,  accuracy,  and  easy 
operation,  facsimile  equipment  has  become  a 
major  carrier  of  "electronic  mail."  it  converts 
text,  photographs  and  graphics  into  electronic 
impulses  which  are  transmitted  over  telephone 
lines.  At  the  receiving  end,  the  impulses  are 
converted  back  Into  a facsimile  of  the  original. 

The  basic  model  in  the  dex  1100  series  is 
priced  at  $2,500.  The  basic  dex  5100  high- 
speed digital  system  may  be  purchased  for 
$12,000.  Rental  rates  are  available,  and  include 
maintenance.  For  more  Information  contact 
Graphic  Sciences,  Inc.,  Corporate  Dr.,  Com- 
merce Park,  Danbury,  CT  06810,  (203)  792-6000, 
James  Hawkins. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  162 

^FEDRON’1  Reconditioner  for 
Offset  Blankets 

FEDRON  Reconditioner  that  removes  ink 
and  glaze  from  offset  rollers  and  blankets  and 
works  equally  well  cleaning  computer  printers 
and  other  office  print  and  copying  equipment, 
is  available  from  Federal  Mining  & Manufac- 
turing Company. 


FEDRON  Reconditioner  Is  recommended 


when  such  trouble  signs  as  stripping,  loss  of 
sharpness,  uneven  ink  distribution,  excess  ink 
usage,  too  many  waste  sheets,  color  changing, 
and  roller  and  blanket  life  is  shortened,  appear, 

FEDRON  evaporates  quickly,  leaving  no 
residue,  and  it  contains  no  toxic  ingredients. 
For  more  information  contact  Federal  Mining  & 
Manufacturing  Co,,  288  12th  Ave.,  Roselle*  NJ 
07203. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  183 

Accounts  Receivable 

The  MCBS  accounts  receivable  operating 
system  for  anesthesiologists  is  a cost-effec- 
tive accounts  receivable  system  when  com- 
bined with  a microcomputer  system.  The  sys- 
tem operates  on  a dual  North  Star  Micro  Disk 
system,  Patient  data  such  as  name,  address. 
Insurance,  SSN,  etc,  may  be  added,  changed, 
deleted,  sorted,  and  listed. 

Operation  of  the  system  Is  easy  to  learn,  and 
little  operator  training  is  required.  The  user  is 
prompted  for  all  commands  and  error 
messages  are  provided  throughout.  32K  of 
RAM  and  a 120  column  printer  are  required.  A 
CRT  with  64  columns  or  more  Is  recommended. 
The  capacity  is  typically  5 to  5 months. 

The  standard  version  is  $300.00.  For  more  in- 
formation contact  MCBS,  560  Bellwood  Dr., 
Santa  Clara,  CA  95050,  (408)  253-3240 
CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  177 


Low  Noise,  Low  Offset  Voltage 

Designated  the  QP-05CP  Instrumentation 
Operational  Amplifier,  this  device,  in  its  tough 
epoxy,  mini-dip  package,  is  well  suited  for 
high-speed  loading  in  printed  wiring  boards  us- 
ing automated  Insertion  equipment. 

With  gain  of  at  least  120,000  and  noise  0,65 
microvolt  p-p  or  below,  between  0.1  and  10  Hz, 
the  OP  05CP  excels  as  a high  performance,  in- 
strumentation grade  operational  amplifier. 
Suitable  applications  Include  strain  gauge  and 
thermocouple  bridges,  high  gain  active  filters, 
buffers,  integrators,  as  well  as  sample  and 
hold  circuits. 

Due  to  its  8-lead  DIP  configuration  the 
device  is  a direct  replacement  for  725s,  lOBAs, 
and  unnulled  741s.  Thus,  the  QP-05CP  pro- 
vides an  Instantaneous  performance  improve- 
ment without  redesign.  Untrimmed  offset  volt- 
age is  typically  0.3  microvolt  at  a 25  °C  ambient 
with  drift  of  no  more  than  1,2  microvoltsTC 
over  an  ambient  temperature  range  of  0<S-70°C, 

In  stock  at  distributors  now,  the  OP-05CP  is 
priced  at  $2.75  In  quantities  of  100  to  999.  For 
more  information,  contact  Precision  Mono- 
llthics,  Inc.,  1500  Space  Park  Or,,  Santa  Clara, 
CA  95050,  (408)  246-9222,  Ext.  103. 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  178 


Softbyte 

SOFTBYTE  is  developing  a line  of  applica- 
tions software  to  put  the  home  computer  to 
work.  The  first  offering  Is  a Federal  Income  Tax 
program  which  is  written  in  BASIC  and  runs  in 
8K  bytes  of  memory.  It  is  interactive  with  the 
user  and  prints  warnings  if  the  user  attempts 
to  violate  IRS  rules. 


Versions  presently  available  are  as  follows: 


Source  listing 
North  Star  Mini-Disk 
Mils  3.2/Tarbell  Cassette 
Pet  Casset  te 
Radio  Shack  TRS80 


FIT  FITAB 
$14,75  $19.60 
18.60  22.60 
16.60  20,60 
16.60 


Cassette 


16,60 


All  versions  come  with  user  instructions.  For 
more  information  contact  Softbyte,  315  Domin- 
ion Dr,  Newport  News,  VA  23602, 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  179 


Direct  Mail  Campaigns 

The  new  service  is  from  Urban  Decision  Sys- 
tems. It  is  a breakthrough  for  marketing  re- 
searchers, sales  penetration  analysts  and 
direct  mail  campaign  planners  because  it  lets 
them  target  mailings  to  Zip  areas  that  have  the 
specific  demographic  profile  they  want  to 
reach. 


120  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


The  new  service  provides  updated  popula- 
tion, household,  income  and  consumer  expen- 
diture estimates  for  all  metropolitan  Zip  areas 
with  city  delivery  service,  Also  available  is  the 
full  range  of  1970  Census  information  by  Zip 
Code. 

Prices  vary  with  the  number  of  Zip  areas  re- 
quested, with  single  reports  starting  at  under 
$25,  For  further  information  contact  Urban  De- 
cision Systems,  21  Charles  St.,  P.O.  Box  551, 
Westport,  CT  06889,  (203)  226-736, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  180 

The  TDS-M68  Microcomputer  System 

The  TDS'M68  Microcomputer  Training  and 
Development  System  brings  to  the  educator, 
industrial  trainer  and  personal  computer  en- 
thusiast an  integrated  system  that  comes  com- 
plete with  microcomputer  (packaged  in  an  at- 
lache  style  case),  self  teaching  lab  manual,  text- 
book and  an  experimenter's  lab  package.  This 
is  a complete  and  self-contained  system  that 
brings  together  in  one  package  ail  the  ingredi- 
ents needed  to  put  together  "hands-on11  train* 
ing  courses  aimed  at  those  who  need  to  develop 
a working  capability  with  microcomputers. 


The  capabilities  and  features  of  the  system 
make  it  an  attractive  low  cost  development 
system  for  many  applications.  Six  general  pur- 
pose I/O  ports  (utilizing  the  SWTPC  bus  con- 
figuration) accept  a line  of  interface  boards 
thal  includes  parallel  and  serial  I/O  ports,  a 
cassette  interlace,  an  interrupt  timer,  a cal- 
culator module,  an  EPROM  programmer,  etc. 

All  items  are  available  separately  or  as  a 
total  package,  A descriptive  brochure  Is  avail- 
able upon  request.  For  more  information  con- 
tact Technical  Devices  Ltd.,  1130  Main  St,, 
Winnipeg,  Manitoba,  Canada  R2W  3F3,  (204) 
509-4803. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  181 

Z80  Arithmetic  Processing  Unit 

Fully  compatible  witht  he  Zilog  Z0O  MCB, 
this  High-Speed  Arithmeic  Processing  Unit 
Board  (HAPUB)  provides  the  hardware  neces- 
sary to  accomplish  arithmetic,  trigonometric, 
inverse  trigonometric,  logarithmic,  exponen- 
tial, and  square  root  functions. 


*\\h\W  m l'l  i 


HAPUB  simplifies  software  and  allows  the 
Z80  to  perform  other  operations  while  accom- 
plishing these  functions,  Also  featured  are 
fixed-point  integer,  single  and  double  preci- 
sion (16/32  bit),  and  floating-point,  single  preci- 
sion (32  bit),  operation  with  bidirectional  con- 
version capability  from  one  to  the  other. 

The  HAPUB  is  compatible  with  the  Zilog  Z8Q 
card  cage  and  8-bit  bidirectional  data  bus 
through  which  all  data  and  command  transfers 
occur. 


The  HAPUB  is  available  from  stock  and  priced 
at  S749  in  small  quantities.  For  additional  infor- 
mation contact  Bill  Chidester,  Signal 
Laboratories,  Inc.,  202  N,  Slate  College  Bivd., 
Orange,  CA  92668,  (714)  634-1533. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  189 

Compucmise 

It  is  the  need  to  save  fuel  that  sparked  the 
development  of  Compucruise.  It  accomplishes 
its  objective  in  a number  of  ways.  First,  its 
cruise  control  smooths  driving,  resulting  in 
reduced  fuel  consumption. 


Second,  by  providing  a feedback  to  tell  the 
drive  when  he  is  being  fuel  efficient,  it  helps 
eliminate  gas  wasting  habits.  Third,  it  shows 
the  driver  which  brand  and  grade  of  gasoline  is 
most  economical  in  his  vehicle.  (Tests  show  in 
excess  of  11%  difference  in  fuel  consumption 
between  major  brands  of  gasoline.)  Fourth,  it 
monitors  engine  efficiency,  letting  the  driver 
know  when  tuneup  work  is  needed. 

For  more  information  and  prices  contact 
Donald  King,  Vice  President,  Zemco,  Inc.,  1 136 
Saranap  Ave.,  Suite  L,  Walnut  Creek.  CA  94595, 
(415)  935-4960. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  1B4 

New  Tool  Wraps 
Without  Pre-Stripping 

A newly  developed  wrapped-wlre  tool  from 
Vector  Electronic  Company,  makes  gas-light 
interconnections  with  standard  Tefzel  in- 
sulated wire  without  time-consuming  measur- 
ing, cutting  and  stripping.  Polyurethane-Nylon 
wire  only  could  previously  be  slit  and  wrapped. 
"Daisy-chain"  temrinaljons  require  about  5 
seconds  per  post  — less  lime  thal  It  normally 
lakes  to  strip  insulation  from  conventional 
wrapped-wire. 


J 


A second  generation  product,  the  P184  Slit- 
n-Wrap™  bit  uses  28-gauge  silver-plated  cop- 
per wire  with  five  mil  thick  Tefzel  insulation  fed 
from  a spool  on  the  tool's  shaft.  A hardened 
cutting  edge,  adjacent  to  the  wrapping  bit,  slits 
the  Insulation  longitudinally  along  the  wire  at 
the  point  a wrap  is  to  be  made. 

The  P184-4T1  is  priced  at  $89.00,  PI 84  -4T 
battery-powered  pencii  type  unit  at  $80.00,  and 
PI  84  manual  tool  at  $29.50.  For  more  informa- 
tion contact  Vector  Electronic  Co..  Inc.,  12460 
Gladstone  Ave.,  Sylmar,  CA  91342,  (213) 
365-9661. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  180 

Security  Systems 

A new  central  control  access  and  maximum 
security  system  that  electronically  operates  an 
entire  network  of  security,  access  and  environ- 


mental equipment  — and  simultaneously  spe- 
cifies the  appropriate  action  required  for  any 
alarm  condition  or  environmental  system  mal- 
function — Is  available  from  Cardkey  Systems, 
a division  of  Greer  Hydraulics,  Inc, 

Called  PASS™  — Programmed  Access/ 
Security  System  — the  sophisticated  compu- 
ter-based Cardkey  system  not  only  displays  in 
detail  the  correction  action  to  be  taken  for 
everything  from  unauthorized  intrusion  to  an 
interruption  in  the  air  conditioning  — but  also 
assures  that  such  action  is  taken. 

For  further  information  contact  Cardkey 
Systems,  a div.  of  Greer  Hydraulics,  Inc.,  20339 
Nordhoff  St.,  Chatsworth*  CA  91311. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  191 

Universal  Computer  Tape 

Wabash  Tape  Corporation  introduces  the 
computer  industry's  first  universally  adaptable 
tape  for  high  density  or  low  density  drives,  at 
high  or  low  speeds,  in  hoi  or  cold  environ- 
ments, under  varied  relative  humidity  ratings. 


This  premium  tape  is  priced  at  about  $18  per 
reel  for  a 2400  foot  reel.  It  may  be  ordered  from 
Wabash  distributors.  For  more  information 
contact  Carl  Holder,  Vice  President,  Product 
Management,  Wabash  Tape  Corp.t  Wabash 
Tower,  Huntley,  iL  60142,  (312)669-5181. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  187 


30%  Price  Cut  on  Control  Data 
Band  Printers 


The  Printer  Sales  Company  now  offers  any 
model  of  the  new  Control  Data  band  printer 
plug-compatible  with  the  DEC-20  general  pur- 
pose computer  for  approximately  30%  less 
than  prices  charged  by  the  computer  manufac- 
turer. 


Control  Data  band  printers  are  available  with 
printing  speeds  of  300,  600,  or  900  lines  per 
minute  in  the  standard  64-character  set.  Op- 
tional 4Sr  96,  or  128-character  sets  with  cor- 
responding increases  or  decreases  in  printing 
speeds  can  be  selected  by  changing  the  print 
band.  Code  marks  on  the  band  automatically 
adjust  the  printer  for  the  character  set 
selected. 

For  more  information  and  prices  contact  The 
Printer  Sales  Company,  26B4  Dawson  Ave,, 
Long  Beach,  CA  90806, 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  185 


Dialog  Voice-Command  System 

Voice  command  of  devices  is  the  main 
feature  of  a new  hospital  system  for  immobil- 
ized patients.  The  Dialog  117  System  allows 
voice  control  of  bed  motors,  lights,  typewriter, 
telephone,  calculator,  computer  games,  lele- 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  121 


vision,  radio,  and  nurse  call,  by  speaking  com- 
mands through  a microphone. 


words,  uses  an  electronic  display  for  verifica- 
tion of  commands,  prompting,  and  other  com- 
munication with  the  user.  The  117  system 
operates  by  converting  sound  waves  into  elec- 
trical signals  which  in  turn  are  amplified  and 
converted  into  a digital  form  that  can  be  under- 
stood by  the  system's  word  processor. 

The  system  trains  itself  to  the  user’s  manner 
of  speaking.  It  is  possible  for  it  to  respond  to 
foreign  accents  and  dialects.  Probably  the 
most  dramatic  performance  of  the  system  oc- 
curs when  the  typewriter  begins  typing  a letter 
as  the  user  spells  each  word. 

For  more  information  contact  Marketing 
Dept.,  Dialog  Systems,  Inc.,  32  Locust  St.,  Bel- 
mont, MA  02178,  (617}  489-2830. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  186 

CDA  Opens  Associate  Membership 
to  Computer  Lessors 

The  Computer  Dealers  Association  has 
voted  to  grant  Associate  Membership  in  CDA 
to  computer  leasing  firms  and  their  representa- 
tives, CDA  in  an  international  trade  association 
which  promotes  the  advantages  of  used  com- 
puters. 

Applications  for  Associate  Membership  in 
CDA  may  be  obtained  by  writing  Marvin  Lurie, 
Executive  Director,  Computer  Dealers  Asso- 
ciation, 6650  Northwest  Highway,  Chicago,  IL 
60631. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  190 

Two  Micro-Based  Boards  Meet 
Standard  Specifications  in  Europe 

The  Z80-MCB/E  and  Z80-MDG/E  are  new  ver- 
sions of  Zilog's  single  board  computer  and 
memory/disk  controller  board,  both  designed 
to  meet  standard  European  specifications. 


Featuring  the  same  basic  capabilities  as 
their  domestic  counterparts,  the  “E'f  version 
boards  meet  the  standard  specifications  com- 
monly adopted  in  West  Germany,  the  United 
Kingdom,  France  and  Switzerland. 

Single  unit  price  for  the  Z8Q-MCB/E  is  $595; 
the  Z80-MDC/E  is  $895.  Prices  for  US.,  F.O.B. 
Cupertino,  CA,  For  detailed  specifications  and 
applications  information  contact  Vince 
Schlezes  at  Zilog,  10460  Bubb  Ftd.,  Cupertino, 
CA  95014,  (408)  446-4666. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  200 

EPROM  Programmer 

Model  7608,  a low  cost  self-contained  pro- 
grammer for  type  2704  and  2708  EPROMs,  has 


program  entry  via  panel  keyboard  and  true 
hexadecimal  display  of  addresses  and  data. 

Model  7608  may  also  be  used  to  copy  master 
EPROMs  and  to  read  preprogrammed  EPROMs, 
and  an  accessory  emulator  unit  permits  load- 
ing from  an  external  keyboard  or  computer. 
Type  2716,  2K  x8  EPROMs  may  be  programmed 
m two  passes  using  the  optional  adapter 
board.  Extensive  editing  capabilities  in  Model 
7608  allow  insertion  and  deletion  of  data  with 
resequencing  prior  to  programming. 

For  more  information  contact  SMR  Elec- 
tronics, 3 Haven  Rd.,  Medfleld,  MA  02052,  (617} 
359-7697,  S.  Rudnick. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  199 


dress  and  other  information,  is  being  offered 
the  home  hobbyist  and  small  business  com- 
puter user 

Available  in  quantities  as  low  as  250,  the 
forms  feature  both  carbon  and  NCR  carbon- 
less sets.  The  line  includes  statements,  in- 
voices, checks,  quick  mailers,  labels,  continu 
ous  envelopes,  etc.  Prices  include  delivery. 
Special  logo,  artwork,  and  custom  form  design 
service  is  also  available. 

Write  for  our  24-page  catalog.  Master  Gharge 
and  VISA/BankAmericard  accepted.  Printcrafl 
Systems,  Inc.,  11-17  Beach  St,,  New  York,  NY 
10013,  (212)  966-0001. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  19? 


North  Star  Now  Offers 
Terminal  for  Horizon 


A 244  ine  by  80  character  CRT  display  ter- 
minal is  available  for  use  with  the  Horizon 
computer. 


The  CRT  terminal,  manufactured  under 
agreement  with  Soroc  Technology,  can  be  con- 
nected to  the  Horizon  with  I/O  port  at  baud 
rates  up  to  9600  baud.  The  terminal  is  the 
Soroc  model  IG  120  and  has  an  addressable 
cursor;  upper  and  lower  case  ASCII  character 
set  and  a numeric  key  pad.  A 90-day  limited 
warranty  is  honored  by  Soroc. 

Price  for  Soroc  IQ  120  Terminal  (assembled 
only)  is  $995.  Delivery  is  stock  to  90  days.  For 
more  information  contact  a local  North  Star 
dealer  or  North  Star  Computers,  Inc,,  2547 
Ninth  St„  Berkeley,  CA  94710,  (415)  549-0858 
CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  198 

“Soundfoil” 

Soundfoil  is  a light-weight,  vibration  damp- 
ing material  it  combines  constraining,  damp- 
ing and  pressure  sensitive  adhesive  in  a single 
peel-and-stick  sheet. 


The  metallic  paintahle  finish  makes  Sound- 
foil  Ideally  suited  for  applications  requiring  an 
attractive  appearance.  It  has  excellent  resist- 
ance to  abrasion,  water,  chemicals,  and  is 
suitable  for  outdoor  use.  The  easy  to  apply 
material  is  available  in  die-cut  shapes. 

A product  sheet,  with  complete  specifica- 
tions and  performance  characteristics  is  avail- 
able from  The  Soundcoai  Co.,  175  Pearl  St., 
Brooklyn,  NY  11201, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  193 

Small  Quantity  Custom  Look 
Imprinted  Business/Offrce  Forms 

A complete  line  of  crash  imprinted  custom 
look  business  and  office  forms  with  name,  ad- 


Optical Reader 

Chatsworth  Data  Corporation  has  available  a 
microprocessor  in  their  Series  4000  Readers, 
The  microprocessor,  an  Intel  8085,  will  be  used 
exclusively  to  handle  different  communicaHn 
protocols.  This  will  enable  users  to  upgrade 
their  system  with  only  a minor  program 
change,  ensuring  longer  useful  life  for  the 
hardware.  Communication  protocol  with  any 
new  computer  system  will  merely  mean  a 
change  of  program  EPROM  which  can  be  a 
field  modification. 

The  microprocessor  can  be  added  to  all 
three  models  of  the  4000  Series;  4200,  one- 
sided timing  mark  reader;  4300  reads  timing 
mark  and  standard  tab  cards;  and  a Model  4800 
which  can  read  data  on  both  sides  of  a card. 

The  Model  4200  with  microprocessor  will 
sell  at  $2,795,  the  Model  4300  at  $3,395  and  the 
4800  at  $4,450.  Delivery  is  45  days  ARO,  For 
more  information  contact  Chatsworth  Data 
Corp.,  20710  Lassen  St,  Chatsworth,  CA 
91311,  (213)  341-9200. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  195 

UIQ  Universal  I/O  Board 

The  Micro  Works  Universal  I/O  Board  is  just 
the  thing  for  custom  interfaces.  The  board  has 
space  for  a 40-pin  wire-wrap  socket  into  which 
you  may  plug  any  of  Motorola's  40  or  24-pin  in- 
terface chips;  the  data  and  control  lines  are 
connected  to  the  appropriate  edge  connector 
pins.  All  other  bus  connections  arebroughtoul 
to  a 16-pin  socket  pad, 


A + 5 volt  regulator  and  all  Molex  connectors 
are  provided;  regulated  + 5 and  ground  are 
bused  among  the  locations  for  up  to  35  14-pln 
fCs.  Price  is  $24,95.  For  more  Information  con- 
tact The  Micro  Works,  P.O.  Box  1110,  Del  Mark 
CA  92014,  (714)  756-2687, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  194 

New  Aluminum  Power  Makes 
Superior  Ceramic  Coatings 

Metco  101SF  is  a new  flame  spray  powder 
from  Metco,  Inc.,  that  produces  dense,  smooth 
as-sprayed  ceramic  coatings.  These  coatings 
have  excellent  resistance  to  wear  by  abrasive 
grains,  hard  surfaces,  cavitation,  and  particle 
erosion.  They  provide  erosion  protection  for 
parts  such  as  butterfly  valves  in  oil  and  water 
hydraulic  systems.  They  are  recommended  for 
slush  pump  piston  rods,  water  turbine  buckets, 
and  dump  valve  plugs  and  seats.  They  are  also 
recommended  for  the  textile  industry,  to  pro- 


722  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


tact  against  abrasive  wear  from  fast  moving 
threads, 

Mateo  1G1SF  is  a superfine  grade  of  alumina 
compounded  with  2 percent  titanium  dioxide 
to  toughen  the  grain.  Coatings  have  an  as- 
sprayed  surface  texture  ranging  from  100  to 
150  microinches  aa.  They  can  be  brushed  or 
tumbied  to  13-17,  ground  to  10,  and  lapped  to 
2-4  microinches  aa.  Dielectric  strengths  are 
high,  providing  excellent  electrical  insulation. 

For  more  information  or  descriptive  bro- 
chure, contact  Metco,  Inc.,  Dept,  959, 1101  Pro- 
spect Ave,,  Westbury,  NY  11590, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  192 

Communications 
Floppy  Disk  System 

The  Comm-Stor  II  is  a communications  flop- 
py disk  system  used  in  the  following  applica- 
tions; Intelligence  for  Terminals;  Time  Share 
Enhancements;  Unattended  Data  Transfer; 
Remote  Batch  Operation;  Interactive  Data  En- 
try; Data  Logging;  Distributed  Processing; 
ASCII/IBM  3740  Conversion, 


The  system  uses  IBM  3740  compatible 
diskettes  and  interfaces  with  all  RS-232  com- 
munications devices.  Comm-Stor  It  is 
microprocessor-based,  enabling  the  user  lo 
store  and  retrieve  files  by  file  source. 

Comm-Stor  II  offers  the  following  new 
features:  Variable  Length  Files;  Merging  Files; 
and  Buffering.  For  more  information  contact 
Sykes  Datatronics,  Inc.,  375  Orchard  St„ 
Rochester,  NY  14606,  (716)  458-8000. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  196 

Pulse-Width-Modulation  Switching 
Voltage  Regulator 

A new  pulse- width-modulation  (PWM)  switch- 
ing voltage  regulator  1C  is  available  from  Texas 
Instruments  Inc.  The  TL494  has  on  a single 
chip  all  the  functions  required  for  pulse-width- 
modulation  control  circuits, 


This  integrated  circuit  is  designed  primarily 
for  power  supply  control.  It  has  an  on-chip  five- 
volt  regulator,  error  amplifier,  current  limit 
amplifier,  adjustable  oscillator,  dead  time  con- 
trol comparator,  pulse-steering  flip-flop  and 
output  control  circuitry. 

The  TL494,  offered  In  16-pin  plastic  and 
ceramic  dual-in-line  packages,  is  characterized 
for  Qfl-70“  temperature  range  operation.  Prices 
in  100-piece  quantities  for  the  TL494GN 
(plastic  DIP)  is  $2,88  and  $3.31  for  the  TL494CJ 
(ceramic  DIP),  For  more  information  contact 
Texas  Instruments  Inc,,  Inq,  Ans,  Serv„  P.G. 
Box  5012,  M/S  308  (Attn:  TL494),  Dai  las,  IX 
75222. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  207 


Data  Communications  Handbook 

A guide  to  the  basic  concepts  of  data  com- 
munications is  provided  in  the  Da/a  Communi- 
cations Handbook  by  Alan  J.  Weissberger, 
available  for  $3.50  from  Signetics. 

in  response  to  the  rapidly  growing  demand 
for  data  communications  linkning  a central 
computer  with  remote  users,  the  176  page 
book  aids  program  managers  and  design  engi- 
neers in  achieving  a basic  understanding  of 
the  elements  of  a data  communication  system. 

The  handbook  describes  in  detail  applica- 
tions examples  such  as  source  data  entry  and 
collection,  remote  batch  processing  and 
remote  job  entry , information  retrievai  and  con- 
versational time  sharing. 

Extensive  definitions  and  explanations  are 
featured  such  as  lypes  of  channels,  digital  vs. 
analog  transmission,  asynchronous  vs,  syn- 
chronous transmission  and  modulation  tech- 
niques, binary  serial  interfaces  and  protocols. 
Also  included  Is  a detailed  description  fo 
two  Signetics1  products  tailored  specifically 
for  the  data  communications  designer:  the 
2651  Programmable  Communications  Inter- 
face (PCI)  and  the  2652  Multi-Protocol  Com- 
munications Controller  (MPCC). 

The  handbook  incorporates  six  appendices 
on  such  topics  as  'Maximum  Capacity  of  a 
Channel"  and  "Integrated  Circuits  for  Data 
Communications  Equipment;”  a list  of  places 
to  write  for  specifications;  and  a data  com- 
munications reference  guide. 

For  a copy  of  Data  Communications  Hand- 
book send  your  request  with  a check  or  money 
order  to  Signetics,  P,Q  Box  9052,  811  E.  Ar- 
gues Ave,,  Sunnyvale,  CA  940B6,  (408) 
739-7700. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  208 

Application  Source  Data 

Improved  industrial  productivity  through  ex- 
panded application  of  source  data  automation 
(3 DA)  is  the  subject  of  a new  report,  designed 


to  give  industrial  management  an  overview  of 
this  relatively  unexploited  segment  of  the 
automation  industry. 

Defining  SDA  as  "a  means  of  collecting  data 
about  an  event  in  computer- readable  form  at 
the  point  and  time  of  the  event's  occurrence;' 
the  report  acknowledges  emerging  SDA  users 
In  the  service  sector,  but  puts  primary  empha- 
sis on  potential  applications  in  manufacturing, 
materials  handling  and  storage  and  work  force 
management  if  includes  capsule  descriptions 
of  six  typical  SDA  applicatinos  as  well  as  a 
discussion  of  factors  currently  inhibiting  the 
accelerated  growth  of  SDA. 

The  compact  management  briefing,  "In- 
creasing Industrial  Productivity  through 
Source  Data  Automation,"  is  available  from 
Reymont  Associates,  29D  Reymont  Ave.,  Rye, 
NY  10580,  $3,00  per  copy. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  201 

Anti-Static  Kit  Work  Station 

Micro  Electronic  Systems,  Inc.  has  com- 
bined three  of  their  standard  Anti  Static  pro- 
ducts to  make  up  an  inexpensive  kit  that  will 
enable  firms  to  enter  into  the  Static  Safe  Work 
Stations  without  the  expene  of  going  all  the 
way  with  work  benches,  chairs,  etc. 


4 


Called  the  Anti  Static  Kit,  it  includes  an  IB11 


BYTE  SHOP 

OF  OHIO 


OHIO’S  FIRST 
AND  BEST! 

MICROCOMPUTERS 
PERIPHERALS 
ACCESSORIES 


I MSA  I flO&O 
BYTE-8 
SWTP  MP68 
CROW EM CO 


MEMORY  EXPANSION 
COLOR  TV  GRAPHICS 
LEAR  SIEGIER  ADM  3 
PAPER  TAPE  READER 


PROCESSOR  TECH 

INTERFACES  {KITS  or  ASSEMBLED  UNITS* 


BYTE 

swr 


PROGRAMS  AND  SOFTWARE 

VARIOUS  BASICS  — TINY.  4K,  6K  and  12K 
FOCAL  - DOS  - GAMES  - BUSINESS  APPLICATIONS 

ALSO  AVAILABLE  APPLE  l CASSETTES  FLOPPIES 

MODEMS  TERMINALS  DEC  WRITERS 

BUSINESS  APPLICATION  INQUIRES  INVITED 
SYSTEM  DEMONSTRATIONS  AND  LITERATURE  / MAGAZINES 

19524  CENTER  RIDGE  ROAD 
ROCKY  RIVER,  OHIO  44116 
(216)  333-3261 

HOURS  TUES  ihru  FRIDAY  to  3 
SATURDAY  10  to  5 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  72 


INTERFACE  AGE  123 


X 24"  Conductive  Work  Mat,  an  8'  Conductive 
Ground  Strap  and  a 4'  Conductive  Plastic  Wrist 
Strap,  This  kit  will  essentially  cover  the  basic 
needs  of  many  that  are  beginning  to  assemble 
MOS  products  into  their  own  product. 

Order  Mode!  ASK,  P/N  1420,  Price  is  $17,50 
in  single  quantities.  Distributor  stocked 
throughout  the  U.S,  For  more  information  com 
tact  Micro  Electronic  Systems,  Inc,,  8 Kevin 
Dr„  Danbury,  CT  06810,  (203)  746-2525. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO, 

Circuit  Evaluators 

The  PQWERACE  line  Includes  three  power 
breadboards,  Models  101,  102,  and  103.  All 
three  models  offer  256-5  tie-point  terminals 
and  16-25  tie-point  buses,  fused  powr  supply 
and  ground  plane. 


All  Models  feature  industry  accepted  Super- 
Strip  SS-2's  and  will  accept  all  DIP  sizes,  plus 
TO-5hs  and  discretes  with  leads  to  .032' ' 
diameter. 

Suggested  retail  price  for  the  101  is  $84,95; 
102,  $114,95  and  103,  $124.95,  For  more  infor- 
mation contact  Ken  Braund,  Product  Marketing 
Manager,  A P Products, 72 Corwin  Dr.,  Box  110, 
Painesville,  OH  44077. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  203 

“Wire- Wrap  Jumpers”  Save  Time 

The  wire-wrap  jumper  cables  provide  a 
means  for  making  temporary  or  permanent 
electrical  connections  between  ,025  Inch 
square  terminal  posts,  such  as  those  common- 
ly used  in  1C  sockets,  and  printed  circuit  con- 
nectors. Small  components  such  as  diodes, 
resistors,  and  capacitors  can  also  be  tem- 
porarily connected  using  the  jumpers. 

The  jumpers  are  available  in  lengths  from  4 
inches  to  6 feet  with  five  colors  standard  and 
unlimited  variety  available  on  request.  Both 
assortments  and  color  code-by-tength  bulk 
packs  are  available.  Contact  surfaces  are  gold, 
rated  3 amperes  continuous.  The  jumpers  may 
be  stacked  up  to  3-deep  on  a standard  wire- 
wrap  pin.  Insulated  sleeving  ensures  protec- 
tion against  shorts.  Teflon  wire  and  sleeving 
are  available  for  hi-temp  and  hl-rel  re- 
quirements. 

Available  oft  the  shelf  from  many 
distributors  or  American  Data  Cable,  lnc.T  903 
San  Antonio  Rd.,  Los  Altos,  CA  94022,  (415) 
328-7176. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  204 

Commercial  Software  for  DECstation 

New  DECstatfon  software  packages,  in- 
cluding a commercially  oriented  version  of 
BASIC  and  a multifunction  (symbiont)  capabil* 
ity,  are  part  of  a new  version  of  the  OS/70 
operating  system.  They  Increase  the  function- 
ality of  the  DECstation,  which  is  a low-cost, 
PDP-8-based,  video  data  processor  system. 

The  new  commercial  basic  compilers  func- 
tions include  commercial  decimal  arithmetic 
to  15-digit  precision,  a PRINT  USING  state- 
ment for  formatted  printing  of  numeric  strings, 
a new  record -oriented  random -access  I/O  for 
rapid  storing  and  retrieval  of  individual  file 
records,  and  multiple  data  formats. 

The  new  multi-function  feature  permits 
parallel  operation  of  tasks  In  the  upper  4K 
words  of  the  DECstation's  memory.  This  con- 
current processing  feature  runs  in  parallel  with 


other  functions  of  OS/78.  Typical  concurrent 
tasks  would  Include  communications,  I/O 
spooling,  or  monitoring  real-time  Jobs,  A 
printer-spooler  program  is  included  as  part  of 
the  new  OS/75. 

For  more  information  contact  Digital  Equip* 
ment  Corp.,  Maynard,  MA  01754,  (617) 
493-3300,  John  Bond, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  205 

dex  5100®  Digital  Facsimile 
Transceiver 

The  dex  5100  is  a high-speed  digital  fac- 
simile transceiver  capable  of  sending  or  receiv- 
ing a full  page  of  text  or  graphics  in  as  little  as 
20  seconds. 


Standard  features  of  the  dex  5100  digital 
system  include  modular  microprocessor  ar- 
chitecture, automatic  document  feed,  unat- 
tended operation  and  convenience  copying 
capability,  Automatic  dialing  from  internal 
electronic  telephone  di  rectory  j simultaneous 
send-and-receive  capability,  and  compatibility 
with  high-speed  analog  devices  are  optional 
features. 

The  basic  dex  5100  may  be  purchased  for 
$12,000  or  rented  for  $300  a month  on  a one- 
year  contract  The  auto  dial  option  Is  priced  at 
$1,500  or  $30  per  month  on  rent. 

For  details  and  further  pricing  information 


contact  Graphic  Sciences,  Inc.,  Danbury,  CT 
06810, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  212 

Gold- Metallized  Cable  TV  Modules 

The  MHW1Q00  series  of  ten  new  Hybrid 
CATV  Modules  from  Motorola  features  all-gold 
metallized  transistor  wires  and  substrates. 
Elimination  of  dissimilar-metal  interfaces  aids 
reliability. 


Improved  geometry  transistors  are  used  in 
the  push-pull  cascade  configuration,  reducing 
35  channel  cross  modulation  distortion  by  a 
factor  of  3 dB,  and  35  channel  composite  ‘‘tri- 
ple bear  distortion  by  3 Vi  dB.  While  Noise 
Figure  has  been  improved  by  over  Vt  dB, 
precise  75  ohm  Impedances  reduce  cable 
reflections. 

With  the  exception  of  the  5-120  MHz 
MHW1182  Reverse  Amplifier,  the  CATV  line 
operates  in  the  40-300  MHz  spectrum.  The  all- 
gold line  replaces  the  existing  Motorola  CATV 
series,  with  no  user  cost  penalty. 

For  more  Information  and  prices  contact 
Motorola  Semiconductor  Products,  Inc.,  P.O. 
Box  20912,  Phoenix,  AZ  85036,  (602)  244-6393, 
Alan  Wagstaffe. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  209 


124  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


Payroll 

The  MCBA  Payroll  Operating  System  Is  a 
general  purpose  business  program  designed 
to  operate  on  the  North  Star  Micro  Disk 
system.  The  program  is  designed  for  hourly 
employees  with  weekly  pay  periods,  and  for 
salaried  employees  with  weekly,  biweekly,  bi- 
monthly,  or  monthly  pay  periods.  Employee 
data  and  payroll  data  are  easily  created  and 
edited.  Reports  on  employee  data,  payroll,  and 
summaries  are  generated 

Federal  and  California  withholding  tax,  FICA 
and  California  State  Disability  Insurance  are 
calculated.  The  user  Is  prompted  for  all  com- 
mands; error  messages  are  provided  through- 
out; and  little  operator  training  Is  required. 

The  standard  one  disk  drive  system  with  24K  of 
RAM  supports  up  to  20  employees  for  one  year 
or  40  employees  for  Y?  year  for  the  weekly 
payrolls.  Special  versions  are  available.  The 
standard  hourly-weekly,  salaried-weekly, 
salaried-biweekly,  salaried-bimonthly,  or 
salaried-monthly  versions  are  each  375.00.  For 
further  information  contact  MCBS,  560 
Bellwood  Dr.,  Santa  Clara,  CA  95050,  (4Q8) 
253-3240. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  213 

Interactive  Graphics  Plotting 

Sunset  Technologies  announces  a new 
piece  of  application  software:  a histogram  pro- 
gram designed  to  draw  a bar  or  point  graph  on 
a video  screen  from  data  inputted  by  the  key- 
board or  from  data  already  residing  In  memory. 


The  program,  written  in  8080  machine 
language  and  using  less  than  4K  RAM,  runs  on 
a Poly-88  microcomputer.  Program  documenta- 
tion includes;  program  description,  complete 
operating  instructions,  flowchart,  complete  an- 
notated source  listing  with  object  code, 
cassette  tape  containing  object  code  and  sam- 
ple data  bases  in  Byte  format,  and  instructions 
for  adding  other  routines  to  this  program 
Single  quantity  price  Is  $25  with  dealer  dis- 
counts available.  For  more  information  contact 
Sunset  Technologies,  210A  E.  Ortega  St.,  San- 
ta Barbara.  CA  93103. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  214 

Bimonthly  Newsletter  on  1978 
National  Computer  Conference 
Published  by  AF1PS 

The  Illustrated  newsletter  provides  news, 
feature  articles,  Interviews  plus  additional  In- 
formation on  the  1978  National  Computer  Con- 
ference to  be  held  June  5-8  in  Anaheim,  Califor- 
nia. Complimentary  Subscriptions  to  the  news- 
letter, NCC  Preview,  may  be  obtained  by  con- 
tacting AFIPS,  210  Summit  Ave„  Montvale,  NJ 
07645,  (201)391-9810. 

The  first  issue  Of  NCC  Preview  provides  an 
overview  of  the  conference,  information  on  the 
record-setting  exhibit  program,  an  outline  of 
areas  to  be  covered  by  the  technical  and  pro- 
fessional program,  a profile  of  conference 
chairman  Stephen  W,  Miller  and  his  plans  for 
NCC  78,  preliminary  informatin  on  the  NCC 
Travel  Service,  plus  a reporl  on  activities  plann- 
ed for  the  NCC  78  Personal  Computing  Festi- 
val, The  Issue  also  contains  a postage-paid  rep 
|y  card  which  may  be  used  to  pro  register  for 
the  full  conference  or  to  obtain  additional  in- 
formation, 

CtfiCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  210 


Multi-Drive  Floppy  Disk  Drive 
Enclosure 

Industrial  Micro  Systems,  Inc.,  announces  a 
triple  disk  drive  enclosure  with  self-contained 
power  supply  and  AC  Line  Cord,  it  allows  the 
user  to  write  protect  his  program  disk  and  still 
have  the  use  of  2 full  disks  for  storage  and  copy. 

The  enclosure  will  accept  Shugart  801,  851 
and  PerScr  277  drive  types.  It  is  designed  for 
desk  top,  Product  Model  No,  61-0030  with  solid 
wood  sides  or  19"  rack  mount  Product  Model 
No,  61-0020  with  slides. 

For  pricing  and  additional  information  con- 
tact Industrial  Micro  Systems,  inc.  633  W. 
KateJIa  Ave.,  Orange,  CA  92667.  714)  633-0355, 
CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  211 

“WORDPAL”  Word  Processor 

Wordpal  products  business  letters,  asserrv 
pies  long  contracts  or  proposals  from  standard 
"boiler  plate1'  which  may  be  individualized 
automatically,  produces  working  drafts  of 
documents  requiring  several  revisions,  re- 
types an  "original"  fetter  to  each  of  hundreds 
of  names  on  a list  of  clients,  prospects,  friends 
or  colleagues,  and  maintains  files  of  docu- 
ments, lists,  and  commonly  used  forms. 

This  powerful  system,  which  may  also  be  us- 
ed for  a variety  of  data  processing  functions  as 
well,  is  available  only  at  Computer  Power  & 
Light  stores.  Prices  start  at  36575  or  $171  per 
month  on  a 5-year  iease/purchase.  Additional 
work  stations  start  at  $2490,  or  $65  per  month. 
For  more  information  contact  Computer  Powre 
& Light,  12321  Ventura  Blvd.,  Studio  City,  CA 
91604,  714)  565-2041  or (2 13)  760-0405,  Irv  Kalb, 
Dir,  of  Marketing. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  215 


Micr  processor 
H ard  wa  re/Software/Services 

Wince  6800  Micromodules  (MPU,  I/O,  RAM, 
EROM  programmer,  A DC/ D AC,  Driver/ Sensor, 
Floppy  controller,  etc.)  on  AW'  cards, 


rw 

wirim 

44 

6800  cross  and  resident  software 
(assembler,  PUW,  relocating  linker,  simulator, 
editor,  monitor/debugger.  BASIC);  custom 
systems,  consulting,  in-house  hands-on 
microcomputer  courses.  For  more  information, 
contact  Wintek  Corp.,  901  N.  91h  St+,  Lafayette, 
IN  47904,  f317)  742-6002, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  215 

Third ‘Level 

RrmwardSoftware  Package 

A thirdJevel  firmware/software  package  is 
available  from  Pick  & Associates  for  upgrading 
all  Reality  computer  systems  now  Installed 
and  operating  in  he  field,  Incuding  those  sup- 
plied by  Pick. 

Designated  as  Release  77,  the  new  enhance- 
ment package  consists  of  a single  firmware 
board  to  replace  the  present  firmware  board, 
plus  a system-generation  tape  to  provide  up- 
ward compatibility  with  all  second-level  Reali- 
ty operating  systems. 

Release  77  software  enhancements  are  also 
aimed  at  increased  versatility  and  more  effi- 
cient use  of  the  Pick-Reality  system  resources. 
A fixed  workspace  allocation,  for  example, 


reduced  the  load  on  the  disk,  and  magnetic 
tape  records  have  been  extended.  A single  dic- 
tionary can  be  shared  by  multiple  data  files. 
The  Pick  Release  77  system  command  speci- 
fication Is  more  universal  and  consistent  The 
Pick-Reality  sort  capability  has  been  exploded 
to  enable  sort  on  multi-valued  attributes,  and 
the  select  capability  has  been  expanded  to 
enable  the  implementation  of  pseudo-lndexed 
sequential  files. 

The  Rick  Release  77  firmware/soft  ware  pack- 
age for  Pick  Reality  computer  systems  is 
available  for  Installation  at  a cost  of  $2,500  for 
single  units.  For  further  information  contact 
Pick  & Associates*  Inc,,  1791 1-E  Skypark  Cir- 
cle, Irvine,  CA  92714,  (714)  979-6663. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  222 

Software  — Ready  to  Load  & Run 

Software  Ltd,  announces  the  availability  of  a 
BASIC  language  library  of  programs  ready  to 
run  on  North  Star  disk  media. 

These  programs  are  'bug-free1  and  ready  to 
run.  Over  45  programs,  including  business, 
finance,  family  budget,  and  games  are  immedi- 
ately available.  Most  programs  are  priced  from 
$2  to  $5  each. 

For  more  information  contact  Software  Ltd., 
Box  AF,  Wood  bridge,  CT  06525. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  223 

SMAL/80 

The  SMAU80  Is  a compiled,  structured, 
macro-assembly  language  for  6080  and  8085 
microprocessors  that  requires  only  7K  of 
memory. 

SMAL/80  statements  are  written  in  a sym- 
bolic notation  resembling  PASCAL  and  PL/M 
that  simplifies  considerably  the  writing  of 
assembly  language  programs, 

The  SMAL/80  package  includes  a 2K  macro 
preprocessor  written  in  3MAU80  that  greatly 
extends  the  usefulness  ot  the  language.  The 
macro  preprocessor  permits  conditional  ex- 
pansion of  statements,  unlimited  nesting  of 
macros,  and  has  a natural  notation  that  is  con- 
ducive to  efficient,  error-free  programming 

SMAU8G  is  being  offered  Initially  In  CP/M 
and  Isis  t disk  formats.  Price,  including  docu- 
mentation, is  $75.  For  more  information  con- 
tact Chromod  Associates,  P.O,  Box  3169, 
Grand  Central  Station,  New  York,  NY  10017, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  224 

The  6502  Program  Exchange 

The  6502  Program  Exchange  has  released  a 
number  of  software  packages  for  6502  sys- 
tems. These  include  an  extended  version  of  the 
high-level  language  FOCAL,  a 4K  resident 
assembler,  and  an  efficient  Mini-Editor. 

The  FOCAL  is  called  FCL65E  (6.5K)  and  of- 
fers 8 to  9 digit  accuracy,  8-level  priority  inter- 
rupt handling,  string  variable  and  functions. 

A Mini-Manual  ($6)  and  a paper  tape  or  hex 
dump  ($17)  will  gel  you  started  on  TIM  or  KIM 
systems.  A User's  Manual,  104  pages  of 
FGL65E  examples  and  further  documentation 
is  available  for  $12, 

For  more  information  and  a 1 is  I of  other 
available  software  send  $1.00  to  The  6502  Pro- 
gram Exchange.  2920  Moana,  Henot  NV  89509. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  341 

Computer  Mainframe  Systems 

The  Model  MCS-1 12  Is  a foundation  unit  based 
on  an  S-iOQ  bus  system  with  a 12-slol  mother- 
board. The  power  supply  is  rated  at  17  amps  at 
8 volts  and  2 amps  at  ± 16  volts, 

A second  version  is  Model  MCS-122.  A foun- 
dation unit  also  featuring  the  S-100  bus  system 
with  a 22-slot  motherboard  and  a higher  rated 
power  supply  providing  32  amps  at  Q volts  and 
4 amps  at  ± 16  volts. 

Both  models  are  fully  assembled  and  tested 
and  am  priced  at  £395.00  for  the  MCS-1 12,  and 
$495.00  for  the  MCS-122.  For  more  information, 
contact  CMC  Marketing  Corp.,  5601  Bintlift, 
Suite  51  5t  Houston,  TX  77036,  713)  783-8880. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  219 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  125 


Rectifiers  Supply  Up  to  t6KV 

Two  new  types  of  htgh-voltage  rectifiers 
combine  the  high  peak-reverse  voltage  and 
moderate  current  characteristics  that  make 
them  ideal  for  microwave  tube,  laser,  x-ray,  or 
other  high-voltage  applications. 


One  13-device  axIaMead  series,  numbered 
from  IN 237 2 through  1N23B5,  exhibits  PRVs 
from  420V  to  10,000V  with  average  rectified 
currents  from  250mA  to  70mA,  respectively* 
Forward  voltage  drops,  at  100mA,  range  from 
3V  at  420V  to  39V  at  IQkV.  Case  dimensions 
are  ,5"  long  and  0,363"  in  diameter  for  the 
lower  voltage  devices  up  to  2' ' by  ,5”  for  the 
high  voltage  units. 

The  axial-lead  rectifiers  are  priced  from 
$0,66  each  to  $7,29  each  in  100  unit  quantities 
while  the  ferrule  type  devices  are  priced  from 
$2.10  each  to  $6,75  each  in  100  unit  quantities. 
Delivery  is  stock  to  30  days. 

For  more  information  contact  Solid  State 
Devices,  inc,,  14830  Valley  View  Ave.,  La 
Mirada,  CA  90638,  (213)  921-9660. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  148 

TTL  Fiberoptic  Duplex  Data  Link  for 
Large  Bandwidth  Applications 

A fully  engineered,  duplex,  asynchronous, 
TTL  fiberoptic  data  link  is  now  available  from 
Valtec  Corporation*  Each  end  of  the  link  has  a 
self-contained  optical  transmitter,  optical 
receiver  and  power  supply.  The  electrical 
signal  input  and  output  is  through  standard 
BNC  connectors.  The  link  is  powered  by  ordi- 
nary wall  current  using  the  power  cord  which  is 
supplied. 


The  user  only  has  to  plug  in  the  link  and  con- 
nect the  electrical  and  optical  cables  to  acti- 
vate the  system.  No  adjustments  are  required. 
Vattec  sells  the  duplex  fiberoptic  cable  with  at- 
tached connectors  for  about  $1.00  per  foot. 

The  link  and  terminated  cables  are  available 
from  Valtec  with  4-6  week  delivery.  The  price 
for  a duplex  link  pair  is  approximately  $1300 
plus  cable  costs.  For  more  information  contact 
J.  Morris  Weinberg,  Valtec  Corp„  West  Boy  Is- 
ton,  MA  01583,  (617)  835-6082. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  150 

10-Million  Character  Business 
Computer  System 

The  System  3000/Model  60  has  to  million 
characters  of  disk  storage  for  $698  per  month* 
The  new  product  features  a multi-terminal 
commercial  timesharing  capability,  designed 
for  use  in  a commercial  environment. 

Also  available  is  a comprehensive  Integrated 
Accounting  and  Distribution  system  that  will 
handle  many  common  accounting  problems. 


This  product  is  targeted  for  distributors, 
manufacturers,  CPAs  and  service  companies. 
These  packages  include  general  ledger,  ac- 
counts receivable,  accounts  payable,  order  en- 
try, Invoicing,  purchasing,  inventory  control, 
payroll  and  word  processing. 

The  Model  60  also  features  remote  diagnos- 
tic support,  which  allows  immediate  diagnosis 
of  most  service  problems  over  the  phone. 

Standard  peripherals  include  a graphics 
video  terminal,  120  line  per  minute  line  printer, 
one  10-million  character  disk  drive  with  5 
million  characters  of  fixed  and  5 million  char- 
acters of  removable  memory.  The  Model  60  in- 
cludes all  of  the  interfaces  and  controllers 
necessary  to  operate  the  basic  peripherals 
plus  a modern  walnut  grained  system  enclos- 
ure which  integrates  well  with  any  contempor- 
ary office  decor. 

The  base  system  price  is  $33,270.  This  cor- 
responds to  a monthly  lease  rate  of  only  $698 
per  month  via  third  party  sources.  For  informa- 
tion contact  Advanced  Information  Design, 
lnc„  1240  Elko  Dr,,  Sunnyvale,  CA  94086, 
CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  158 


Non-volatile  CMOS  RAM  Module 
Price  Down  62% 

Wintek  has  lowered  the  price  on  their  2K 
CMOS  RAM/BATTERY  Module  from  $899,00  to 
$349.00.  The  new  price  for  256  bytes  is  $129,00, 


The  Module  can  be  loaded  with  any  multiple  of 
256  8-bit  bytes  up  to  2K  along  with  automatic 
battery  backup,  increased  volume  and  plum- 
meting prices  for  the  51GL  CMOS  RAM  chips 
were  cited,  Wintek  claims  the  most  complete 
line  of  6800  microprocessor  and  interface 
modules  on  industry  standard  4V  x 6V2" 
44-pin  boards. 

For  more  information  contact  Wintek  Corp., 
902  N,  9th  5t,r  Lafayette,  IN  47904,  (317) 
742-6802. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO*  1 51 


Hobby  Computers  Replace  Costly 
Edit  Code  Readers 


The  most  recent  addition  to  the  growing  list 
of  business  oriented  "software1  Is  of  specific 
interest  to  firms  using  Audio/Visual  communi- 
cations, 

A giant  step  forward  was  taken  in  the  assem- 
bly of  films  and  tapes  when  the  Society  of  Mo- 
tion Picture  and  Television  Engineers  (SMPTE) 
unveiled  its  "Time  Code  Standards"  for  index- 
ing films  and  tapes.  A Chicago-based  consult- 
ing firm  has  announced  the  first  in  a proposed 
series  of  operating  systems  written  for  micros. 


computer  to  read  time  and  coded  films  and 
tapes.  The  display  is  in  plain  everyday  lan- 
guage. The  program  is  written  in  8080  assem- 
bler, so  no  high  level  language  is  required*  It  is 
supplied  on  punched  paper  tape  with  a manual 
complete  with  source  listing. 

The  software  package  is  priced  at  $49.00 
postpaid,  which  includes  one  pre-soldered, 
tested  Interface  module.  Additional  interface 
modules  are  $7,50  each,  postpaid.  For  addi- 
tional information  write  to  J,S,  Wiener,  4440  N. 
Kedzie  Ave*,  Chicago,  IL  60625 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  147 


Z-80  Based  Development  Systems 

MICROSYSTEM/12,  MICROSYSTEM/15  (tape- 
based),  MICROSY5TEM/20  AND  MICROSYS- 
TEM/30  (disk-based)  Z-80  systems  include  CPU 
with  up  to  56K  memory,  high  speed  960  charac- 
ter CRT,  ASCII  keyboard,  dual  floppy  disk  or 
cassette  tape  unit,  operating  system  software 
and  documentation* 


Tektronix  Logic  Analyzer  Line 

A new  logic  analyzer  display  formatter  that 
monitors,  in  sequence,  activity  that  occurs  on 
the  IEEE-488  (General  Purpose  interface)  Bus 
is  now  available  from  Tektronix,  Inc,  Desig- 
nated the  Tektronix  DF2,  the  formatter  makes 
it  substantially  easier  for  users  of  program- 
mable instrumentation  to  link  different  types 
of  instruments  to  a digital  controller  for  dis- 
play and  analysis  in  a variety  of  applications. 


Price  of  the  DF2,  including  the  IEEE/GPIB 
Probe  Adapter,  is  $1945.  Delivery  is  four  weeks 
ARC,  (Price  and  availability  applicable  only  to 
the  U.S.A.). 

For  further  information  contact  Tektronix, 
Logic  Development  Products,  P,0,  Box  500, 
Beaverton,  OR  97077,  (503)  644-0161, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  153 


Optional  accessories  an  software  include  in- 
circuit  emulator,  line  printers,  extended 
BASIC,  BASIC  compiler,  RDOS  (disk  operating 
system  with  relocatable  macro  assembler  and 
linkage  editor),  and  word  processor.  Low  cost 
plug-in  modules  permit  the  systems  to  be  con- 
verted to  8080  or  6800  processors. 

Prices  range  from  $4,325  for  MICROSYSTEM/ 
12  MOD  Z-80  with  MICROTAPE/2  dual  cassette 
tape  unit  and  16K  memory,  to  $7,675  for 
MICROSYSTEM/30  MOD  Z-80,  including 
MICRODISK/2  dual  8"  floppy  disk  unit  and  16K 
memory.  Delivery  for  ail  systems  is  2 to  4 
weeks.  For  additional  information  contact 
Futuredata  Computer  Corp*,  11205  S La 
Cienega  Blvd.,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90045,  (213) 
641-7700. 


The  program  uses  any  BQBD-based  micro- 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  112 


726  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


1978  Catalog 

Power  One,  producer  of  open  frame  D,C+ 
power  supplies,  has  Just  published  its  new 
1978  product  catalog. 

The  catalog  includes  complete  specs, 
prices,  photos  and  mechanical  drawings  of  83 
specific  models  ...  all  stocked  for  immediate 
delivery.  It  also  presents  a rep  list  and  nation- 
wide  stocking  centers  plus  other  information 
that  enables  the  user  to  buy  directly  from  the 
catalog. 

For  a free  copy  of  the  new  1978  catalog  con- 
tact Power  One,  Power  One  Drive,  Camarillo. 
CA  93018,  (805)  484-2606, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  221 

Metric  Precision  Gear  Boxes 

PIC  Design  has  a complete  series  of  metric 
precision  gear  boxes  , . , choose  from  servo, 
worm  and  wheel,  miter  and  bevel  gear  boxes. 


Designed  to  change  the  direction  of  speed 
or  to  precisely  geardown  and  reduce  the  out- 
puts of  high-speed  servo  motors  that  must  be 
used  with  slower  speed  devices,  Enables  the 
designer  to  have  a wide  range  of  packaged 
speed  reduction  units  to  choose  from  to  meet 
virtually  any  design  requirment. 

Available  in  ratios  1:1;  1:3;  12,5:1  — 120:1 
and  2:1  — 625:1  backlash  as  low  as0M0\  up 


to  5000  RPM  max.  Over  100  different  variations 
and  models  supplies  in  shaft  sizes  3,  4 and 
6mm.  Special  ratios,  shaft  sizes  or  locations  of 
input  and  output  shafts  can  be  supplied  upon 
request. 

Prices  from  $95.50.  For  more  information 
contact  PIC  Design  Div,,  Wells-Benrus  Corp., 
P.O.  Box  335,  Benrus  Center,  Ridgefield.  CT 
06877,  Attn:  Catalog  Dept. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  220 

FM  Stereo  Demodulator  Uses  l2L, 
Ion  Implant  & Bandgap  Technologies 

The  MCI 309,  with  pin  connections  identical 
to  the  industry-standard  MC1310,  combines 
the  latest  PL,  Ion  Implant,  and  Bandgap  tech- 
nologies to  meet  the  needs  of  today’s  FM 
stereo  receivers*  Low  distortion,  low  power 
drain,  minimized  supply-tine  noise,  and  auto- 
matic transient-free  stereo/mono  switching  are 
some  of  the  benefits  of  the  new  design* 


PL  technology  permits  efficient,  low  power 
drain  operation  of  the  PLL's  logic  circuitry, 
while  Ion  Implanting  allows  controller,  high 
valued  internal  resistors  to  be  fabricated.  The 
MCI 309  uses  the  lower  noise  Bandgap  Refer- 
ence technique,  with  the  advantage  of  low  sup- 
ply voltage  capability*  Tree-type  multiplying 
demodulators  are  replaced  by  parallel  swit- 


ching in  the  new  wide  range  design. 

The  MCI 309  is  available  from  distributor  and 
OEM  stocks  in  a 14-pin  DIP,  at  a 100-up  price  of 
$1.50.  For  more  information  contact  Motorola 
Semiconductor  Products,  lncn  P.O.  Box  209 12t 
Phoenix,  AZ  85036,  (602)  9623101,  Doug 
Fryman. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  217 

Virtual  Memory  Box 

The  memory  box  contains  a collection  of 
2102-M-816  memory  boards.  The  nominal  64K 
workspace  of  a microprocessor  is  expanded  to 
several  megabytes,  if  necessary,  by  the  con- 
cept of  Virtual  Memory;  data  lines  are  used  to 
define  a 24-bit  addressing  scheme  instead  of 
the  conventional  16  address  bits. 


Typical  applications  range  from  ROM  and 
bubble  memory  banks  to  memory  shared  multi- 
processing; with  Virtual  Memory,  DMA  between 
two  main  processors  of  up  to64K  is  now  possi- 
ble in  less  than  10  usee  by  a simple  instruc- 
tion, The  memory  box  can  also  be  used  for  con- 
ventional memory  expansion. 

Send  $2,00  for  complete  description  with 
schematic  diagrams  (refund  if  material  is 
returned  by  return  mail)  to:  Systemathica  Con- 
sulting Group  Ltd.,  P,C,  Box  10154,  Pittsburgh, 
PA  15232,  (412}  621-8362, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  218 


ike  BYTE  SHOPS  ot  South  F toitida 

Our  experience  has  proven  the 
SOL-20  to  be  among  the  very 
best  computers.  So  we  confident- 
ly offer  this  fine  system,  either 
kit  or  assembled,  along  with 
compatible  peripherals  and  oper- 
ating software. 

PERIPHERALS 

• North  Star  MICRO-DISK 

• Centronics  700  Series  Printers 

• Micromation  Disk  System 

SOFTWARE 

• Powerful  Word  Processor  for 
SOL  on  North  Star  Disk. 

• Inventory  Control 

• New  business  packages  coming 

Continuing  service  and  assistance,  and  a complete  line  of  books  and  magazines  are  offered  at  both 
locations,  to  assure  you  that  your  system,  purchased  from  one  of  the  BYTE  SHOPS  of  South  Florida, 
will  keep  giving  you  excellent  performance. 

2 Locations  open  10-6  Monday  through  Friday,  Saturday  10-2 

BYTE  SHOP  OF  MIAMI  BYTE  SHOP  OF  FORT  LAUDERDALE 

7825  Bird  Road,  Miami,  FL  331 55  1 044  E.  Oakland  Park  Blvd.,  Ft.  Lauderdale.  FL  33334 

DIAL  (305)  561-BYTE 


SOL-20 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  71 


INTERFACE  AGE  127 


MLZ-80  Microcomputer  Board 

In  addition  to  being  a general  purpose  micro- 
computer complete  with  4K  RAM  and  up  to  8K 
ROM,  the  MLZ-80  contains  an  on  card  Floppy 
Disc  interface  for  standard  or  “mini"  floppy 
disc  drives. 

Other  special  features  of  this  6.75  inch  x 
12.0  inch  card  are:  Intel  SBC  bus  compatible, 
Dual  serial  asynchronous/synchronous  ports 
with  separate  software  controllable  baud  rates 
up  to  19,200  baud,  RS232C  or  current  loop  in- 
terface, four  8-bit  parallel  ports  (two  of  which 
have  bidirectional  capability),  DMA  logic  for 
memory  and  I/O  data  transfers,  four  counter/ 
timers,  selectable  power-on-jump  starting  ad- 
dress, full  Z-80  vectored  interrupt  support,  and 
multiprocessor  capability. 

Pricing  is  $350.00  and  up,  depending  on  con- 
figuration and  quantities.  The  Heurikon  Cor- 
poration also  provides  support  and  system 
development  services  for  the  MLZ-80  including 
general  purposes  or  custom  hardware  inter- 
faces and  application  software.  Contact 
Heurikon  Corp.,  700  W.  Badger  Rd.,  Madison. 
Wl  53713,  (608)  255-9075  for  informaton. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  122 

Velleda  ‘Writes  On,  Wipes  Off* 

Velleda,  a dramatic  new  way  to  communi- 
cate in  color.  What  is  written  on  a special  plas- 
tic surface  may  be  wiped  away  in  seconds,  ef- 
fortlessly, cleanly  and  without  a trace. 


The  world’s  quickest  writing  and  illustrating 
aid,  Velleda  is  positioned  as  the  most  versatile 
and  among  the  least  expensive  of  all  products 
serving  the  communications  board  industry.  It 
consists  of  a self-adhesive  board  Flexiroll 
ready  for  mounting  and  special  dry-wipe  mark- 
ers available  in  six  assorted  colors.  The  Flexi- 
roll also  may  be  cut  to  any  size  and  applied  to 
any  flat  surface  to  make  a blackboard  obsolete 
since  it  eliminates  words,  figures  or  graphics 
instantly  with  no  rubbing,  dust  or  marks  left 
behind. 

The  smaller  Velleda  roll  size  (Item  67)  is  26  V2 
x 39%  inches  and  retails  for  $14.95.  The  larger 
roll  (Item  90)  is  35 V2  x 783/4  inches,  selling  for 
$39.95  list.  The  special  dry-wipe  markers,  for 
use  with  Velleda  Flexirolls  are  available  in 
packs  of  one  dozen  at  89  cents  each.  The 
markers  are  also  available  in  an  assorted  four- 
pack  (blue,  black,  red,  green)  at  $3.56  list. 

A pre-pack  counter  display  assortment 
(#8067)  contain  15  No.  67-size  rolls,  a dozen 
markers  with  black  ink,  and  a dozen  four-pack 
assortments  with  a total  retail  value  of  $277.56. 

Velleda  will  be  distributed  through  office 
supply  dealers,  contract  stationers,  school  and 
art  supply  wholesalers,  college  bookstores  as 
well  as  distributors  serving  mass  retail  outlets. 
For  more  details  contact  Caractere  Pen  Corp., 
124  W.  Lincoln  Ave.,  Mt.  Vernon,  NY  10550. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  112 

Tektronix  Graphics  Terminal  Output 
for  TV  Display 

Princeton  Electronic  Products,  Inc.,  intro- 
duces a Computer  Graphics  Terminal  Interface 
Option  to  its  PEP-500  Image  Memory/Scan 
Converter.  This  new  interface  allows  direct 
plug  connection  of  the  PEP-500  to  Tektronix 
Graphics  Terminals,  Models  4010,  4012,  4013, 
4014,  4015,  and  similar  terminals. 


|M 


The  PEP-500  converts  graphics  terminal  X-Y 
signals  into  standard  EIA  composite  video  out- 
put, allowing  group  viewing  of  computer  gener- 
ated engineering,  statistical  or  scientific 
graphics  on  TV  monitors  and  projection  TV 
systems,  or  recording  of  graphic  material  on 
standard  video  tape  or  disk  systems. 

For  more  information  and  technical  perfor- 
mance data  contact  Princeton  Electronics  Pro- 
ducts, Inc.,  P.O.  Box  101,  N.  Brunswick,  NJ 
08902. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  120 

TIGER 

The  TIGER  (Television  Interface  General- 
purpose  Economy  Remote  terminal)  contains 
an  acousticxoupler  for  communications  with 
remote  timesshare  computers,  full  ASCII  key- 
board, and  television  electronics  that  provide 
interconnection  to  a standard  TV  set  via  the 
antenna  input.  Up  to  1024  characters  may  be 
simultaneously  displayed  in  switch  selectable 
formats  for  8 or  16  lines  of  32  or  64  characters 
per  line. 


The  unit  has  a built-in  power  supply,  meas- 
ures 8”  x 10"  x 3"  and  weighs  only  4 pounds. 
Additional  features  include  eight  selectable 
baud  rates  from  110  to  9600,  complete  TTY 
compatibility,  built-in  RS-232C  connector  for 
direct  hook  up  to  a computer,  an  optional  self- 
contained  memory  system  and  availability  in 
eight  colors.  The  TIGER  terminal  sells  for  $500. 

For  additional  information  contact  Micon  In- 
dustries, 252  Oak  St.,  Oakland,  CA  94607,  (415) 
763-6033. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  137 

Information  Processors 

The  IBM  6/442  and  IBM  6/452  Information 
Processors  with  high-speed  impact  printers 
are  the  latest  additions  to  the  IBM  Office 
System  6 family. 


The  IBM  6/442  features  a functional  display, 
high-density  diskette  storage,  a 96-character 
multilingual  keyboard,  and  an  impact  printer 
with  bidirectional  print  capability  at  speeds  of 


up  to  55  characters  per  second.  The  printer  has 
an  operator-changeable  print  wheel  available 
in  five  typestyles,  10  pitch,  12  pitch  and  propor- 
tional spacing  all  with  justification  capability. 

The  IBM  6/452  has  all  the  features  of  the 
6/442  but  also  includes  a magnetic  card 
reader/recorder.  This  provides  users  the  ability 
to  utilize  IBM  mag  card  typewriters  to  process 
magnetic  cards  for  text  editing,  record  pro- 
cessing and  high-speed  impact  printing. 

The  IBM  6/442  and  6/452  and  be  leased, 
rented  or  purchased.  For  more  information 
contact  IBM  Corp.,  Office  Products  Div.,  Par- 
son’s Pond  Dr.,  Franklin  Lakes,  NJ  07417,  (201) 
848-3454,  Donald  Reck. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  117 

Processor  Terminal 

The  MCS-PT1 12/32  is  a complete  and  self- 
contained  computer  system  with  display,  disk 
storage,  a full  keyboard  and  a 12-slot  mother- 
board. Features  of  the  MCS-PT1 12/32  include  a 
15"  high-resolution  monitor  with  a face  plate  of 
smokey  plexiglass  to  reduce  glare  and  en- 
hance type  visibility;  a full  upper  and  lower 
case  ASCII  keyboard  with  eight  user  desig- 
nated special  function  keys  and  a 16-key 
numeric  cluster  pad.  One  Shugart  SA-400  mini- 


The  12-slot  mainframe  contains  a CPU  board 
that  features  an  8080  processor  and  a special 
circuit  that  implements  a start  up  "jump  to" 
routine  to  any  user  selected  byte  address. 

The  Processor  Terminal  Model  MCS-PT112/ 
32  fully  assembled  and  tested  is  priced  at 
$4795.  Other  models  in  the  PT  series  are  avail- 
able. For  more  information  contact  CMC 
Marketing  Corp.,  5601  Bintliff,  Suite  515, 
Houston,  TX  77036,  (713)  783-8880. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  136 


COMPAL-80 

Business  Microcomputer 

The  system  is  based  on  the  S-100  standard 
COMPAL  micro,  with  a dual  Micropolis  “quad 
density"  mini-floppy  drive  (315K  bytes  per 
diskette),  the  Texas  Intstruments  TI-810  150 
cps  impact  printer,  and  an  extended  disk 
BASIC  with  several  enhancements/utilities. 


Computer  Power  & Light  provides  three  ser- 
vice plans,  including  a full  maintenance  con- 
tract, and  offers  classes  in  computer  program- 
ming and  in  operation  of  their  application  soft- 
ware. Price  of  a 56K  system  is  $7300,  com- 
plete, or  $190  a month  on  a 5-year  lease/pur- 
chase. For  more  information,  write  COMPAL, 
12321  Ventura  Blvd.,  Studio  City,  CA  91604.  No 
dealer  inquiries  please. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  118 


128  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


Power  Supply  Mounts  on  P.C.  Board 

Scientific  Programming,  Inc.  is  introducing  a 
new  quad  output  P C.  Board-mountable  power 
supply  to  complement  the  company's  DUAL 
OUT  & TRIOUT  Series.  The  new  unit  is  part  of 
the  Micro-Supply  (MS)  family.  The  MS  family  is 
a new  concept  in  miniature  power  supplies. 
The  family  consists  of  a newly  developed  AC 
adaptor  plus  SPIs  Regulated  DC/DC  con- 
verters. The  AC  adaptor  is  a wall  plug-in  unit 
designed  to  be  compatible  with  all  the  con- 
verters manufactured  by  SPI.  At  the  present 
time  IB  types  of  power  supplies  with  dual,  tri- 
pie  or  quad  outputs  are  available. 

The  most  popular  module  the  QUADOUT 
5J12M2/-5  is  priced  at  $59,95  in  OEM  quanti- 
fies. Prices  of  other  modules  range  from  $29  to 
$79  depending  on  the  type  and  the  quantity. 
Delivery  is  from  stock  to  4 weeks.  For  more  in- 
formation contact  Scientific  Programming, 
Inc.,  1499  Bay  shore  Hwy„  Suite  1 26r  Burl- 
ingame, CA  94010,  (415>  493-2199. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  154 

Tape  Transport 

MFE  Corporation  has  expanded  its  Hostile 
Environment  Digital  Cassette  Tape  Transport 
line  for  use  in  military  and  other  hostile  en- 
vironment industrial  and  commercial  applica- 
tions. 


MFE's  new  "low  power"  Modal  250BH-1, 
which  Is  capable  of  operating  over  a tempera- 
ture range  of  minus  30*C  to  plus  55 *G,  is  in- 
tended primarily  for  portable,  battery-operated 
system  applications. 

The  Model  250BH-1  supplements  the  pre- 
sent Model  25G8H  which  is  capable  of  operat- 
ing over  the  temperature  range  from  minus 
40 °C  to  plus  70  aC.  The  250BH  has  been  quali- 
fied mechanically  to  MIL-E-54G0R  and  MIL- 
STD  8 10C  u Helicopter  Environment11  for  vibra- 
tion, shock  and  30g  crash  safety. 

For  further  information  contact  MFE  Corp,, 
Keewaydin  Dr.,  Salem,  NH  03079,  (603) 
893-1921. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  126 

D to  A and  A to  0 

Colorado  Analog  Products  announces 
another  handy  P.C.  board.  This  bare  board  is 
priced  at  $10  and  implements  two  channels  of 
digital  to  analog  and  8 channels  of  analog  to 
digital  conversion,  both  8 bits  wide.  The  board 
is  3”  x 4"  and  is  designed  to  mount  as  a 
module  on  most  standard  proto  boards,  but 
may  also  be  mounted  independently. 


The  board  uses  two  MCI  408  type  DACs 
whose  gain  and  offset  can  be  individually  ad- 
justed by  trim  pots.  For  special  applications 


such  as  music  synthesis  there  are  Jumper  op- 
tions for  wide  dynamic  range  (48dB)  and  zero 
D.C.  signal  generation,  Three  voltage  supplies 
(+ 12,  -12,  + 5).  one  Input  and  two  output  ports 
are  required. 

For  further  information  contact  Colorado 
Analog  Products,  P.G.  Box  6746,  Denver,  CO 
80206. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  122 

Punched  Tape  Readers 

The  2001-2  Step/Mate  Reader  is  available  for 
immediate  delivery  from  stock  from  EECO, 

The  2001-2  reader  was  designed  for  micro- 
processor software  development,  PROM  pro- 
gramming, photo  typesetting  and  machine 
control  applications. 


2001-2  reader  specifications  include  punch- 
ed tape  reading  at  150  cps,  complete  tape  drive 
electronics  and  output/handshake  signals  that 
are  TTL  compatible. 

The  Step/Mate  is  compact  in  size,  easy  to 
connect  to  system  electronics.  Interface  con- 
trollers are  available  for  most  popular 
minicomputers.  1-49  quantity  list  price  is  $290. 
For  more  Information  contact  EECO,  1441  E, 
Chestnut,  Santa  Ana,  CA  92701,  (714)835-6000, 
"Tape  Readers." 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  131 


If  You  Don't  Mind  PAYING  A LITTLE  LESS 

for  the  BEST 

Compare  Our  Prices 


For  instance,  you  can  buy  the  CROMEMCO  Z-2  Computer  System,  right  off  our  shelf,  for  less 
than  you'd  expect  to  pay.  And  we'll  provide  you  with  compatible  peripherals  and  software  for 
equally  attractive  prices. 

SOFTWARE 

North  Star  Disk  Basic 
Business  Packages 

LITERATURE 

5%  discount  on  all  books 
and  magazines. 


PERIPHERALS 

• Centronics  700  Series  Printers 

• Hazeltine  Terminals 

• Soroc  CRTs 


z-z 


/ 


HOW  CAN  WE  DO  IT? 


We  can  make  a deal  for  you  on  a computer  system  because  we  keep  our  overhead  costs  down. 

CALL  OR  WRITE  FOR  PRICES 


BYTE  SHOP 

674  El  Camino  Real 
El  Camino  Plaza 
Tustm,  CA  92680 

(714)  731-1686 


Convenient 

Orange  County  Location 

HOURS 

Monday  Thursday  11-7 

Friday  1 1 - S 

Saturday  10-6 


Santa  Ana  Fwy,  - 5 

i t 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  77 


INTERFACE  AGE  129 


6800  for  S-100  Bus 

Qatatronics  has  announced  a new  680Q-CFU 
microprocessor  card  for  the  S-100  bus*  bring' 
ing  all  the  advantages  of  the  68QG*s  sophisti- 
cated bus-oriented  architecture  and  Its  com- 
prehensive, PDP-11-iike  instruction  set  to  the 
S-100  users.  The  extensive  software  support 
for  the  6800  is  available  at  last  on  the  S-100  bus. 

For  the  serious  business  user  or  hobbyist, 
this  microprocessor  card  provides  full  turn  key 
operation  and  maximum  system  compatibility 
as  well  as  an  RS-232/20ma  interface  (baud  rate 
selectable  with  a dip  switch),  paper  tape  reader 
control,  Mikbug  BOM  Operating  System, 
power  on  reset,  on  board  dynamic  memory 
refresh,  slow  memory  interfacing  (up  to  5 ^s  ac- 
cess time),  and  tri-state  data,  address  and  con- 
trol lines  all  on  one  card  for  $179.00  In  kit  form 
and  $269.00  assembled,  burned-in  and  tested, 

A floppy  disk  system  and  other  advanced 
support  items  will  also  be  available  soon. 

For  more  information  contact  Datatronics, 
208  E.  Olive,  Lamar,  CO  81052,  (303)  336-7956, 
Dealer  inquiries  invited, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  111 

EPROM  Programmer 

Smoke  Signal  Broadcasting  has  a new  low 
cost  2708  EPROM  programmer.  Designated 
the  PO  P-1 , the  unit  lists  for  $149  and  is  de- 
signed to  interface  to  the  company's  P-38-1 
and  P-38-FF  EPROM  boards,  which  are  SS-50 
bus  compatible  products. 


Complete  software  is  provided  on  audio  cas- 
sette, A unique  adaptive  programming  tech- 
nique is  used  that  allows  most  2708's  to  be 
programmed  in  15  seconds  instead  of  the 
usual  one  and  a half  minutes.  A separate  self- 
contained  power  supply  is  used  for  the  pro- 
gramming voltage  insuring  sufficient  current 
capability  to  program  EPROMs  from  any 
manufacturer. 

For  more  information  contact  Smoke  Signal 
Broadcasting,  P.O,  Box  2017,  Holiywood,  CA 
90028,  (213)  462-5652. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  134 

Hardware  Switch 


A printer  switching  capability  that  allows 
users  of  NBI  word  processing  equipment  to  in- 
crease system  throughput  by  up  to  20  percent. 


The  product  consists  of  an  electronic  switch 
and  all  required  cabling  needed  to  link  the 
printer  with  multiple  NBI  systems.  Printers 
typically  used  with  this  word-processing 
equipment  are  30  - 40  - 55  cps  daisy-wheel 
printers. 

Priced  at  $11,990,  it  allows  user  to  con- 
tinuously update  applications  by  entering  soft- 
ware changes  on  the  system  s standard 
diskette,  which  stores  approximately  25QK 
characters,  or  about  50  pages  of  text. 


For  further  information  contact  NBI,  5595  E, 
Arapahoe  Ave.,  Boulder,  CO  80303,  (303) 
444-5710. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  124 

New  Course  from  NCR  Teaches 
Basics  of  COBOL  74  Language 

A new  self-instruction  course  which  pro- 
vides basic  skills  for  writing  computer  pro- 
grams in  COBOL  74  Is  now  available  from  NCR 
Corporation. 

The  course,  which  takes  approximatiey  40 
hours  to  complete,  will  enable  those  taking  it 
to  become  entry-level  programmers. 

The  course  makes  extensive  use  of  exer- 
cises so  that  the  learning  of  new  material  is 
constantly  reinforced  as  the  student  takes  an 
active  part  in  the  process.  The  course  includes 
four  student  text  volumes,  a special  monitor 
guide,  a handbook,  and  a final  examination,  as 
well  as  programming  forms. 

It  is  general  in  nature  and  the  language  can 
be  applied  to  both  NCR  and  non-NCR  systems. 
The  course  is  priced  at  $225  and  is  available 
from  the  company's  Learning  Systems  Divi- 
sion, For  more  information  contact  NCR  Cor- 
poration, Dayton,  OH  45479,  (513)  449-2150, 
CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  152 

Microcomputer  with 
Double  Density  Floppy  Disks 

The  Micro-2  is  a high  performance  micro- 
computer system  with  dual-drive,  double  den- 
sity floppy  disks  for  less  than  $5,000,  This 
compact  system  is  housed  in  a single  cabinet 
with  two  Shugart  floppy  disk  drives.  The  single 
computer  board  features  a Z-80  CPU,  32K  or 
64 K RAM,  four  RS232  serial  interfaces  and  real- 
time clock. 


The  Micro-2  Computer  System  comes  com 
pletely  assembied  and  tested.  Prices  with  32K 
memory  is  $4,995;  with  64K  memory,  $6,090.  A 
complete  system  with  two  double-sided  drives 
with  32K  memory  is  $5,695;  with  64K  memory, 
$6,795.  Complete  system  with  four  single- 
sided drives  with  32K  memory  is  $7,040;  with 
64 K memory,  $8,135,  First  year  srvice  contract 
is  available  for  $125.  OEM  and  dealer  discounts 
are  offered.  For  information  contact  Digital 
Systems,  6017  Margarido  Dr„  Oakland,  CA 
94618,  (415)  428-0950. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  119 

Mass  Storage  Operating  System 

The  MSOS  Ills  a Mass  Storage  Operating 
System  for  DG  NOVA  or  NOVA  emulating  com- 
puters which  supports  from  one  to  nine  mass 
storage  devices,  high  speed  reader  and  punch, 
line  printer,  and  system  console.  MSOS  II  is  in- 
dependent of  any  hardware  manufacturer  and 
will  support  any  combination  of  devices,  in- 
cluding user-supplied  devices,  it  is  ideal  for  ap- 
plications programs  development  and  file 
management. 

All  software  is  operational  in  the  minimum 
configuration  of  one  1GK  NOVA  and  one  mass 
storage  unit.  System  resident  software  oc- 
cupies only  350  words.  System  overlays  oc- 
cupy an  additional  1800  words  during  execu- 
tion of  system  commands.  Standard  MSOS  II 
includes  an  Editor,  Relocatable  Assembler, 
Linker  and  Extended  BASIC.  Rela  extensions 
to  the  standard  basic  interpreter  include  ex- 
tended precision  calculations,  complete  string 


functions,  and  PRINT  USING, 

Optional  MSOS  II  utilities  include  a Macro 
Assembler,  Library  File  Editor,  Cross 
Assemblers  for  Intel  8080,  MOS  6502,  and 
Motorola  6800  microprocessors,  and  support 
utilities  for  Indexed  Sequential  Access 
Method. 

Purchase  price  for  the  standard  system  is 
$1,000  with  substantial  OEM  discounts 
available.  MSOS  If  is  available  from  Rela 
Systems,  inc.,  303  Canyon  Blvd.,  Boulder,  CO 
80302,  For  more  information  contact  Dean  Let- 
fingwell,  (303)  444-1738. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  128 

Industrial  Control  Microcomputer 

The  Wyle  line  of  microcomputers  and  digital 
logic  modules  includes  parallel  and  serial  digi- 
tal I/O,  analog  I/O,  communications  modules, 
and  a wide  variety  of  others  including  over  200 
digital  logic  modules. 


Also  available  are  modules  to  allow  the  Wyle 
microcomputer  hardware  to  couple  directly  to 
existing  4-20  and  l0-50mA  current  loops.  The 
modularity  in  design  and  assignment  of  speci- 
fic functions  to  individual  modules  allows 
systems  to  be  tailored  to  customer  re- 
quirements in  control  and  data  collection.  The 
Wyle  software  Includes  resident  and  non- 
resident assemblers,  development  packages, 
math  utilities  and  a high  level  language. 

For  a descriptive  brochure  or  more  informa- 
tion contact  Wyle  Laboratories/Computer  Pro- 
ducts, 3200  Magruder  Bivd.,  Hampton,  VA 
23666,  (804)  838-0122. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  116 

Intel’s  Improved 
Single  Board  Computers 

The  iSBC  80/10A  Single  Board  Computer  is 
an  enhanced  version  of  the  popular  iSBC  80/10. 
The  S0/1QA  differs  in  that  if  gives  the  user  up  to 
twice  the  ROM  capability  as  is  presently 
available  on  the  80/10  at  no  increase  in  cost. 
The  80/10A  sells  for  $495  in  single  quantity. 


With  the  80/10A,  the  user  creates  the 
features  of  his  end  product  by  configuring  his 
software  and  storing  the  program  in  either 
erasable  and  electrically  reprogrammable 
EPROM  or  mask  programmable  ROM,  which 
are  then  added  to  the  80/10 A. 

For  further  information  contact  Don  Schare, 
Intel  Corp„  3065  Bowers  Ave.,  Santa  Clara,  CA 
95051,  (408)  987-7253. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  114 

KX-33B  Microcomputer 

The  KX-33B  is  an  easy-to-use  microcomputer 
that  is  intended  to  teach  the  basic  concepts  of 
computer  technology,  including  the  execution 


7 30  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


of  functions  by  combining  your  instructions 
with  input  signals.  The  KX-33B  is  also  intended 
to  give  some  idea  of  microcomputer  operation, 
introducing  the  world  of  the  central  processing 
unit,  registers,  and  memory. 


Since  it  is  basically  a controller,  the  KX-33B 
is  built  around  the  Panasonic  4-bit  MN14Q0 
microprocessor.  In  addition  to  the  arithmetic/ 
logic  unit,  the  chip  includes  1024  words  by  8 
bits  of  ROM  for  the  system  program  and  64 
words  by  4 bits  of  RAM,  which  stores  keyboard 
data.  Also  in  the  KX-33B  are  two  Static  RAM 
chips  with  256  words  of  4 bits  each,  which  hold 
the  tunes  keyed  in  by  the  user,  It  also  includes 
an  8-bit  latch,  audio  amplifier  and  multivibrator 
ICs,  and  a speaker  There  are  keyboard  switches 
and  LEDs  and  associated  drivers  for  the  4-digit 
display. 

Available  completely  assembled,  the  KX-33B 
is  priced  at  $229.00  with  instruction  manual  In- 
cluded. For  further  information  contact  Energy 
Electronic  Products  Corp..  6060  Manchester 
Ave..  LOS  Angeles,  CA  90045,  (213)  670-7880. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO-  115 

Two  Pounds  of  RF  Data 
from  Motorola 

The  RF  Data  Manual  is  packed  with  com- 
plete data  sheets,  practical  application  notes, 
and  cross-references.  The  two  pound,  736-page 
volume  describes  RF  Power  Transistors  with 
outputs  up  to  150W,  operable  in  commercial, 
military,  aircraft,  marine  and  ham  bands  from 
1.5  MHz  to  1 GHz,  as  well  as  linear  hybrid 
amplifier  modules  forCATWMATV  and  general 
purpose  use.  power  hybrid  amplifiers  up  to 
SOW  output  in  the  VHF  and  UHF  bands,  and 
Small-Signal  RF  transistors  with  fT  values  up 
to  6 GHz. 


Detailed  application  information  includes 
impedance  matching  networks,  mechanical  RF 


construction  techniques,  biasing,  reliability, 
noise  figure  and  gain  optimization  procedures, 
mounting  and  heat  sinking,  as  well  as  discus- 
sions of  SSB  linearity,  broadbanding,  and 
power  combining-  Specific  amplifier  configura- 
tion articles  include  actual  printed  circuit 
board  layouts. 

Motorola's  RF  Data  Manual  is  available  for 
£3,50  each  from  all  Motorola  distributors.  For 
more  information  contact  Motorola  Semicon- 
ductor Products,  Inc.,  P.O,  Box  20912,  Phoenix, 
AZ  85036,  (602)  244-6900. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  113 

Dual  Processigrt  Satellite  and 
Floppy  Disk  Controller 

The  dual  processing  and  floppy  controller 
board  1771- AC-1 051  is  designed  to  provide  the 
ultimate  power  to  this  peripheral  control. 


The  Controller  Module  is  a smart,  FO  1771 
based  multi-drive  unit  which  automatically  per- 
forms all  elementary  disk  operations  including 
CRC  checks. 

The  Arbitration  Module  is  an  interrupt  driven 
dual  processor  communication  unit  which 
allows  two  microprocessor  systems  to  com- 


municate data  and  control  signals  directly  be- 
tween one  another,  to  share  the  same  memory 
and  to  access  the  controller  module  in- 
dependently. 

It  is  available  as  a kit  or  as  a complete 
satellite,  including  the  slave  micro-unit, 
memory  box  and  a powerful  disk  operating 
system.  1771-AC-1051  kit,  including  PC  board, 
all  passive  devices  and  TTL  gates  is  £171,00; 
sockets,  $25.00;  chip  set,  $71.00;  Dual  process- 
ing satellite  (specify  bus  option)  assembled 
and  tested  is  $1200.00, 

Sent  $2.00  for  complete  description  with 
schematic  diagrams  (refunded  if  material  is 
returned  by  return  mail)  to  Systematises  Con- 
sulting Group,  Ltd.,  P .0.  Box  10154,  Pittsburgh, 
PA  15232,  (412)  621-8362. 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NCL  133 

High  Performance  4-Bit 
Slice  Processors 


Texas  Instruments'  S481  4-bit  slice  proces- 
sors offer  built-in  computational  algorithms. 
Part  of  the  S481  chip  set  of  Schottky  TTL 
microprogrammable  building  blocks,  the 
SN74S481  offers  a lOMz  clock  rate,  while  the 
new  low-power  Schottky  parts  (SN 54/74  LS481) 
operate  with  35%  less  power  than  the  74S481. 


Both  the  S481  and  LS481  versions  are  now 
available  in  the  hermetic  48-pln  quad-in-line 
ceramic  package,  and  they  will  be  available 
soon  in  a lower-cost  48pin  dual-in-line  plastic 
package. 

The  SUS481  bit  slice  processor  is  now  avail- 
able In  high-density  ceramic  quad-in-line 
packages  for  either  commercial  (0°  to  70 ”C) 
applications,  and  the  SN54LS481  is  available 
for  -55°  to  -f  125*C  requirements. 

Please  forware  inquiries  to  Texas  Instru- 
ments, lnc„  Inquiry  Answering  Service,  P.O, 
Box  5012,  M/S  308  [Attn:  $481),  Dallas,  TX  75222. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  110 


2nd  ANNIVERSARY  SALE!° 
march  & April  Only! 

With  each  purchase  of  the  following  systems  you  will  receive  FREE 
a Panosonic  9"  Video  Monitor  — ABSOLUTELY  FREE!  A value  of 
$175.00.  Here  are  the  systems  to  choose  from: 

PROCESSOR  TECHNOLOGY 
Sol  20/  8K  factory  tested  and  assembled  for  $1850.00 


COMPUTER  MART 
MICROCOMPUTERS 


PROCESSOR  TECHNOLOGY 
Sol  20/16K  factory  tested  and  assembled  for  $1975.00 

Also  available  to  you  this  month  are  8K  static  memory  boards  that 
have  been  factory  assembled-tested-and  GUARANTEED  for  only 
$200.00.  Manufactured  by  Industrial  Microsystems.  (212)  686-7923 


PERIPHERALS 

ACCESSORIES 


— Stin  Vi  it.  Storekeeper 


COMPUTER  MART  OF  NEW  YORK  INC. 


By  Mail,  Phone,  or  In  Person 
The  Computer  Mart  of  New  York  is  the  most  reliable! 


1 1 8 Madison  Ave.  (En lor  on  30th  SI.),  New  York.  NY  1 001 6 


Open  Tuesday  to  Saturday  9:30  a.m..6:30  p.m. 

0 


INTERFACE  AGE  131 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  81 


Floppy  Disk  System 

Model  61 '0041  is  a full  sized  floppy  disk 
drive  with  WO  Controller  tor  the  S'100  bus,  fully 
assembled  and  tested.  A portable  self  con- 
tained enclosure  with  Shugart  BQ1 R floppy  disk 
storage  drive. 


Forced  air  flow  by  "Whisper  Fan."  50/60  Hz 
110  volt  or  220  volt  operation  — AC  to  DC 
power  supply.  Double  disconnect  power  cord 
UUCSA/VDE  approved.  Fused  AC  and  DC. 
Steel  cabinet  construction.  The  I/O  Controller 
Is  fully  Altair  compatible.  Also  available  with 
triple  drive  enclosure. 

For  further  Information  contact  Industrial 
Micro  Systems,  633  W*  Katelfa  Ave.  -L,  Orange, 
CA  92667,  (714)  633-0355. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  135 


The  Data  Handler  Expansion  Board 

This  board  will  expand  the  Data  Handler  into 
a much  more  professional  system.  The  ex- 
pander board  will  contain  4K  of  RAM  (expand- 
able to  16K),  IK  of  EPROM  (expandable  to  4K)t 
Video  Interface  with  RF  modulator  64  charac- 
ters by  32  lines,  and  features  a cassette  operat- 
ing system  software  package  to  promote  the 
Data  Handler  into  a powerful  system. 


The  Data  Handler  expander  board  is 
available  now  for  $315,05  and  can  be  purchased 
through  Western  Data  Systems.  3650  Charles 
St.,  Dep.  H.,  Santa  Clara,  CA  95050.  Or  see  one 
of  our  dealers. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  121 

MTX-A1  Alpha  Chip 

The  MTX-A1  (alpha  chip)  is  a general  purpose 
programmable  alphanumeric  display  and  key- 
board interface  device  designed  for  use  with 
most  8-bit  microprocessors.  The  display  por- 
tion provides  all  the  timing  and  refresh  signals 
to  drive  up  to  32  popular  5x7  dot  metric  LED 
displays.  The  keyboard  portion  provides  all 
scanning  signals  to  debounce  and  decode  any 
keyboard  of  up  to  64  keys. 


On  the  input  side,  the  alpha  chip  Interfaces 
directly  to  the  address,  data  and  control 
busses  of  most  8-bit  microprocessors. 

The  MTX-A1  incorporates  virtually  all  func- 
tions on  one  chip.  It  works  with  any  5x7  dot 
matrix  LED.  Typical  examples  are  the  T1- 
TIL305,  or  the  HP  H DSP-2000,  it  has  a 32x8 
display  refresh  RAM  built  in  as  well  as  a 
64x5x7  ASCII  character  generator  ROM.  The 
device  will  encode  and  debounce  any  keyboard 
of  up  to  64  keys  in  16  msec. 

The  1C  requires  a single  +5V±10%  power 
supply  (60mA).  All  display  and  keyboard  I/O 
pins  are  TTL  compatible.  The  price  is  $39,00 
single,  $29.00  for  100,  For  further  information 
contact  Matrox  Electronic  Systems,  P.O,  Box 
56 P Ahuntsic  Stn.,  Montreal,  Que  H3L  3N5,  (514) 
481-6838. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  127 

Remote  Journal  and 
Administrative  Printer 

A remote  journal  and  administrative  printer 
that  can  be  shared  by  several  transaction  ter- 
minals has  been  introduced  by  Concord  Com- 
puting Corporation, 


The  Concord  700  Journal  and  Administrative 
Printer  lets  you  maintain  a continuous,  consol- 
idated printed  record  of  all  transactions  made 
on  up  to  eight  Concord  terminals.  Retained  in  a 
locked  compartment  for  security,  this  record 
helps  simplify  account  balancing  and  recon- 
ciliation. The  700  printer  can  also  receive  host 
computer  generated  administrative  messages, 
annotations  to  transactions  and  warnings  of 
anticipated  system  problems.  It  can  operate 
remotely  from  the  transaction  terminals  and  re- 
quires no  host  computer  programming  or 
modifications  to  the  terminals. 

The  Concord  700  sells  for  $1600  each.  Quan- 
tity discounts  are  available.  For  more  informa- 
tion contact  Concord  Computing  Corp,,  Irwin 
Abrams,  Vice  President,  7 Alfred  Cir.,  Bedford, 
MA  01730,  (617)275-1730. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  129 

12- Bit  Hybrid  Data  Acquisition  System 

Models  HDAS-16  and  HDAS-8  are  complete 
12-bit  data  acquisition  systems  fabricated  with 
thin-film  hybrid  technology.  These  complex 
hybrid  devices  incorporate  a CMOS  multiplexer, 
programmable  gain  instrumentation  amplifier, 
sample-hold,  10V  buffered  reference,  12-bit 
A ID  converter,  address  register,  and  digitai 
control  logic  into  a miniature  62-pin  package 
2.3  x 1.4  x 0.24  inches  (58.4  x 35.6  x 6.1  mm). 


The  two  models  are  16  channel  single  ended 
(HDAS-16)  or  8 channel  differential  (HDAS-8) 


and  feature  a throughput  rate  of  50  kHz  at  12 
bits  resolution.  The  performance  of  these 
devices  equals  or  exceeds  that  of  larger  data 
acquisition  system  modules. 

Pricing  in  1-9  quantity  ranges  from  $295.00 
to  $695.00  depending  on  temperature  range 
desired.  Availability  Is  4 weeks.  For  more  infor- 
mation contact  Datei  Systems,  Inc*,  1020  Turn- 
pike St*,  Canton,  MA  02021,  (617)  828-8000. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  130 

High  Speed,  Fixed  Head  Printer 

The  EX-201  is  a high  speed,  fixed  head  elec- 
trosensitive  printer,  designed  for  mobile  prin- 
ting, ticket  printing,  and  other  heavy  duty  appfi- 


The  new  printer  operates  from  12  volts  DC 
and  uses  a new  fixed  stylus  print  head.  The 
print  head  is  in  light  contact  with  a drive  roller 
which  moves  paper  under  the  head  at  up  to  6 
inches  per  second.  Alphanumeric  printing 
speed  is  800  cps  and  characters  may  be  for- 
matted horizontally  or  vertically  on  the  paper  to 
give  line  printing  or  message  printing  as 
desired. 

The  EX-201  mechanism  is  available  to 
OEM’s  at  $180  each  in  100  unit  quantity.  For 
further  information  contact  Simon  Harrison, 
Axiom  Corp.,  5932  San  Fernando  Rd.,  Glen- 
dale, CA  91202,  (213)  245-9244. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  125 

Dual  Rack-Mounted 
Programmable  Load 

A dual,  19-inch,  rack-mounted  version  of  the 
EL-750  programmable  electronic  load  Is 
capable  of  verifying  DC  power  supply  outputs 
as  high  as  1500  watts. 

Designed  for  use  in  laboratories  and  in  quali- 
ty control  and  incoming-inspection  stations, 
the  dual  EL-750  operates  in  either  a constant 
resistance  or  constant  current  mode,  manually 
selectable  with  front-panel  pushbuttons* 


The  front  panel  contains  all  the  controls  for 
manual  operation  and  indication.  Load  current 
programming  can  be  accomplished  by  a steady 
DC  voltage  level  externally  applied  through  a 
connector  mounted  on  the  rear  panel. 

The  EL-750  is  also  available  as  a single 
750-watt  rack-mounted  or  bench-top  instru- 
ment. 

Price  tor  the  dual  rack-mounted  version  is 
$1,790.00;  the  single  rack-mounted  version  Is 
$995.00;  the  bench  top  model  $895.00  (1-9  qty,). 
Delivery  is  from  stock.  For  more  information 
contact  Bob  Hecton,  ACDC  Electronics,  401 
Jones  Rd.,  Oceanside.  CA  92054,  (714) 
757-1880. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  139 


132  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


WHAT  DO  YOU  REALLY  NEED  WHEN 
YOU  BUY  A COMPUTER  SYSTEM? 


IMSAI  8080  *COO 

22  slot,  front  panel,  kit  $999 

APPLE  II  16  KRAM 

Color  graphics 

SOROC  IQ  120 

Block  mode 


$1455 

$995 


NORTHSTAR 
HORIZON  II 


Dual  floppy,  32K  RAM 
So  roc  IQ  120.  Basic 
Centronics  779 
printer  plus  general 
business  software 


$4750 


Tl  PROGRAMMER  C/IQ 

Binary,  hex  converter  $4*7 

MICROPOLIS  DUAL 

630^K  bytes  $1799 

NORTHSTAR  FLOPPY 

90  K bytes,  kit 


$599 


ALPHA  MICRO 
SYSTEMS 

Powerof  ammiatthe 
price  of  a micro 


AM  100  - 

2 board  CPU 

AM  200 

Floppy  disk  controller 


$1495 

$695 


When  you  buy  a computer  system 
from  MISSION  CONTROL  you  get 
three  things:  THE  BEST  PRICE, 
THE  RIGHT  COMPONENTS,  AND 
THE  SUPPORT  TO  GET  IT  UP 
AND  RUNNING. 

OUR  SYSTEM  PRICES  ARE  UN- 
BEATABLE. We  guarantee  com- 
patible components.  Before  you 
buy  come  by  our  store  for  “hands- 
on”  experience  on  our  demon- 
strators. Many  people  will  try  to 
save  a few  dollars  by  buying  a 
piece  here  and  a piece  there,  but 
when  your  system  doesn’t  run 
who  do  you  turn  to? 

At  Mission  Control  we  stand  be- 
hind everything  we  sell  with  guid- 
ance and  technical  support.  From 
our  store  you’ll  not  only  get  what 
you  want  but  also  everything  you 
need  including  peace  of  mind. 


WE  THINK  IT  TAKES  MORE  THAN  JUST 
HARDWARE  TO  MAKE  A COMPUTER  SYSTEM 


MISSION 

CONTROL 

2008  WILSHIRE  BLVD. 

SANTA  MONICA,  CA  90403 

213-829-5137 

T-Sat  11-6  Th  11-9 


item 

price 

NAME 

ADDflESS 

CITY  STATE  ZIP 

( ) 

PHONE 

□ CHECK  □ MONEY  ORDER 

□ VISA  DMASTEH  CHARGE 

tax 

CARD  # 

total 

INTERBANK  # _ EXP.  DATE 


Ca.  RES-  ADD  6%  TAX.  All  prices  cash.  Credit  cards  add  3%.  Shipping  charges  add  $15 
for  computers,  terminals,  $10  for  floppies,  $5  for  boards,  $2  per  calculator. 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  86 


INTERFACE  AGE  133 


ASSEMBLED  SYSTEMS 
With  Disk  Capability 
AT  KIT  PRICES! 

ISN’T  YOUR  TIME  WORTH  $58.00? 

Then  why  spend  needless  time  and  energy  when  we  will  deliver  assembled  and 

fully  tested  systems,  like  this  one. 

Ideal  for  the  BUSINESS  OFFICE  or  the  CLASSROOM 

North  Star  HORIZON 


North  Star  Horizon  Single  Drive  System  includes  the  Z-80  CPU  at  2 or  4 MHz, 
motherboard,  16K  of  memory  at  4 MHz  and  power  supply.  Software  includes  Disk 
Operating  System  and  Disk  BASIC.  Horizon  1 kit  is  $1599.  Dual  Drive  Horizon  is 
also  available  at  $1999. 

We  add  monitor  and  keyboard. 

Compare  our  assembled  prices  and  save 
hours  of  soldering,  testing  and  trouble 
shooting ! f ++*+*++*+*■**+++**++*++*++*+*+++++ 


SYSTEM  SOFTWARE 
GIVES  YOU  TRUE  DISK 
FILE  CAPABILITY 

You  get  the  Horizon  1 complete 
with  North  Star  Disk  BASIC. 
Business  software  on  diskette  is 
also  available  with  the  purchase 
of  your  Horizon  1 for  $295,  and 
includes:  . General  Ledger 

• Accounts  Receivable 

• Accounts  Payable 
■ Payroll 

• Inventory 

• Amortization 

Jj  $2296.00.  | • Mailing  List 

Each  program  is  available  for  $60 
Assembled  systems  sold  with  90-day  written  warranty.  and  all  programs  may  be  purch- 

Come  in  and  see  our  Horizon  in  operation.  ased  separately  for  $395.00. 

Sunshine  Computer  Company 

20710  South  LeapwoodAve.  • Carson,  California  90746  • (213)327-2118 


OPTIONS, 

JfMove  up  to  a Hazeltine 


<!  Component 

North  Star  HORIZON  1 
| Parallel  Input/Output 
PROM 

Video  Board  (64  by  16)-^ 

9”  Video  Monitor 
ASCII  Keyboard  and  Enclosure 
Your  cost  for  separate  kits  would 
total  $2238.00. 

Your  assembled  price 
I from  Sunshine  Com- 


CRT  Terminal  for  an  additional 
$595.00. 

Dual  Drive  $395.00 


puter  Company  is 


134  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  93 


APRIL  1978 


Sunshine  Computer  Company 


PROUDLY  OFFERS  SYSTEM  THREE 

From  ^ j Cromemco 

flew!  FOR  TIMESHARING 


A Powerful  Microcomputer 
System  with  Capacity  for 


4 DISK  DRIVES! 


SYSTEM  THREE  includes: 

• Z-80A  Microprocessor 

• 32K  of  RAM  on  2 cards 

• Dual  Disk  Drive 

• 4-Drive  Controller 

• RS-232  Interface 

• S-100  Bus 

• Power-On  Switch 

• 21-slot  Motherboard 

• Heavy  Duty  30  amp  Power 
Supply 

• 110  or  220  Volt  Operation 


i r ^ 

s.  m 

Model  3100  CRT  Terminal  with 
80  character/line,  upper/lower 
case  and  separate  numerical  and 
cursor  keypads.  Price  $1595. 
Model  3101  with  added  tine  edit- 
ing, block  mode  and  function 
keys.  Price  $1995. 


Price  starts  at  $5990*  assembled 
and  tested. 


MANY  OPTIONS 
AVAILABLE 

We’ll  help  you  design  your  com- 
puter system  to  suit  your  spe- 
cial applications  for: 

• Business/Accounting 

• Word  Processing 

• Data-Based  Management 

• Science  and  Engineering 

• Legal  or  Medical 

• Education 


EXTENSIVE  SOFTWARE 
SUPPORT 

All  current  software  developed 
by  Cromemco  works  for  The 
SYSTEM  THREE  Computer, 
including: 

• FORTRAN  IV 

• 16K  Z-80  BASIC 

• Z-80  Macro  Assembler  and 
Linking  loader 

with  more  on  the  way. 


High  Speed  Line  Printer  Model 
3703  speed  is  180  cps,  bi-direc- 
tional with  132  column  width 
and  tractor  feed.  Price  $2995. 

COMPLETE  SYSTEM 
With  your  choice  of  peripher- 
als, whether  they’re  from  Cro- 
memco or  from  any  of  the  fine 
devices  we  have  in  stock,  you 
can  have  a microcomputer  sys- 
tem up  and  running,  performing 
a wide  range  of  tasks,  for  less 
than  $10,000. 


*Special  pricing  available  with  full  system  purchase.  Sunshine  Computer  Company  specializes 
in  assembled  systems.  All  systems  are  sold  with  a 90-day  written  warranty.  Stop  in  for  a 
demonstration.  If  you’re  not  nearby,  call  or  write  for  more  information,  because  Sunshine 
Computer  Company  ships  anywhere  in  the  U.S. 

Sunshine  Computer  Company 

20710  South  Leapwood  Ave.  • Carson,  California  90746  • (213)327-2118 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  98 


INTERFACE  AGE  135 


S-100  Light  Pen  and  Interface  Board 

Sunset  Technologies  introduces  a low-cost 
professional  quality  light  pen  and  plug  compat- 
ible S-100  interface  board  usable  with  any 
video  board.  The  anodyzed  aluminum  light  pen, 
connected  to  the  board  by  super  flexible  rib- 
bon cable,  is  controlled  by  a momentary  push 
button  mounted  on  the  pen. 

This  high  quality  unit  has  a variety  of  ap- 
plications; program  development  text  editing, 
and  graphics,  to  name  a few.  The  complete 
package  includes  the  light  pen  and  pc  board 
fully  assembled  and  tested,  a user's  manual 
with  full  documentation,  and  suggested  appli- 
cations, Single  quantity  price  is  $250.00  with 
dealer  discounts  available.  For  more  informa- 
tion contact  Sunset  Technologies,  210  A E, 
Ortega  St.,  Santa  Barbara,  CA  93103, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  123 

Cassette  Program  Storage 

This  complete  tape  drive  unit  provides  full 
remote  signal  control  of  ail  transport  func- 
tions, It  includes  read/wrile  electronics,  con- 
trol and  timing  logic,  and  motor  control  logic. 
All  you  need  to  supply  is  a mounting  location, 
power  supply  and  an  interface  with  the  con- 
trolling I/O  devices. 


OEMs  will  find  the  STR™-150  to  be  a cost- 
effective  solution  to  data  and/or  program 
storage  and  retrieval  requirements  in  system 
applications.  The  unit  is  designed  for  use  with 
micro  and  minicomputers,  controllers,  and 
other  devices  requiring  remote  control  of  the 
tape  drive.  The  recorder  accepts  any  asyn- 
chronous 8-bit  parallel  data  word  and  records 
in  a self-clocked  serial  mode. 

For  further  information  contact  Triple  I,  4605 
N.  Stiles,  Oklahoma  City.  OK  73118,  (405) 
521-9000. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  132 

ACT-IV  Microprocessor- Based 
Smart  Terminal 

The  ACT-IV  computer  terminal  employs  an 
internal  microprocessor  to  achieve  smart  ter- 
minal features  at  a dumb  terminal  price. 


Standard  features  of  the  ACT-IV  include  an 
BO  by  24  display  format  of  upper  and  descend- 
ing lower  case  characters,  programmable  con- 
trol character  display  and  programmable  half 
or  full  intensity.  The  keyboard  offers  the  conve- 
nience of  separate  keys  for  cursor  motion  and 
a SEND  key  to  initiate  block  transmission. 

The  ACT-IV  can  be  purchased  in  either  of 
two  packages.  The  ACT-IV  A is  housed  in  a 
compact  cabinet,  requires  an  external  video 
monitor  and  sells  for  $550.  The  ACT-IV  B with  a 


high  resolution  12-inch  CRT  and  a numeric 
keypad  in  its  cabinet  and  sells  for  $800. 

Direct  further  inquiries  to  Micro-Term,  lncn 
P.G.  Box  9387,  St.  Louis,  MO  63117,  (314) 
645-3656. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  140 

Advent  Computer  Interface 

The  Advent  Computer  Interface  connects  an 
IBM  3270  series  computer  terminal  to  a modi- 
fied VideoBeam^  1000 A video  projector,  enabl- 
ing it  to  display  on  its  7-foot  diagonal  screen 
the  same  image  the  3270  displays  on  its  14" 
screen.  This  7-foot  display  permits  a class- 
room-size  audience  to  see  clearly  the  alpha- 
numerics  generated  by  the  IBM  3270  terminal. 


The  modified  VideoBeam  television  can  also 
display  normal  [color  and  black  & white)  televj* 
sion  signals  from  off-air  broadcasts  (with  its 
built-in  VHF/UHF  tuner),  video  tape  or  disk 
players,  video  cameras,  etc. 

Preliminary  pricing  for  the  computer  display 
system,  installed  [f.o.b.  Cambridge,  MA)  is 
$4,495  for  the  Model  3270  Computer  Interface, 
and  $4,495  for  the  Model  1000A  VideoBeam 
television  (projector  and  screen),  modified  for 
computer  display. 

For  more  information  contact  Marjie  Karg- 
man,  Advent  Corp.,  195  Albany  St,  Cambridge, 
MA  02139,  (617)  661-9500, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO*  145 

The  Writehander™ 

A new  typing  keyboard  has  been  designed 
that  permits  typing  all  128  characters  of  the 
ASCII  code  with  one  hand. 


The  new  keyboard  is  particularly  useful  with 
computers  and  terminals  that  accept  ASCII- 
coded  parallel  input.  Using  the  keyboard  with 
one  hand,  the  operator  can  hold  a telephone  or 
papers  with  the  other. 

The  keyboard  is  also  useful  for  those  with  an 
injured  or  disabled  hand,  to  whom  conven- 
tional typing  is  impractical. 

The  Writehander  connects  to  the  terminal 
through  a ribbon  cable  that  has  lines  for  the 
7-bil  ASCII  code,  a 1-blt  fixed  parity,  Strobe  and 
Acknowledge  signals,  and  the  power  and  com- 
mon lines. 

Price  of  the  Writehander  is  $98.  Delivery  is 
from  stock  to  15  days.  For  more  information 
contact  Mr.  Sid  Owen,  Me  wo  Company,  246 
Walter  Hays  Dr„  Palo  Alto,  CA  94303,  (415) 
321-7979. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  143 

Master  Calendar  of  Meetings  in  the 
Information  Processing  Field 

A master  calendar  of  meetings  scheduled  in 


the  computing  and  information  processing 
field  has  been  published  by  the  American 
Federation  of  Information  Processing  Socie- 
ties, Inc.  (AFIPS),  The  calendar  provides  a com 
prehensive  listing  of  meetings  sponsored  by 
AFIPS  constituent  societies  as  well  as 
meetings  sponsored  by  established  groups  in- 
volved in  computer  science  and  information 
processing.  The  first  issue  covers  meetings 
scheduled  from  1978  to  1981.  Complimentary 
copies  may  be  obtained  by  contacting  Diane 
Sleliingwerf,  Editor,  AFIPS  Master  Calendar, 
AFIPS,  210  Summit  Ave„  Montvale,  MJ  07645. 

The  calendar  will  be  updated  on  a quarterly 
basis  with  the  second  edition  scheduled  for 
publication  in  April  1978,  Societies,  associa- 
tions, organizations  and  groups  active  in  the 
computing  field  are  urged  to  send  information 
on  their  meetings  for  inclusion  in  the  April  edi- 
tion, Ail  material  should  be  sent  to  the  AFIPS 
Master  Calendar  Editor, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  138 

2SIO®  Rev,  8 

Monitor  ROM  and  multiple  I/O  ports  on  this 
board  make  your  S1G0  bus  system  a turn  on 
and  go  computer.  Controls  the  terminal  and 
one  or  two  recorders  from  the  on  board  ROM, 
IK  of  2708  EPROM  is  provided.  A socket  for  a 
second  ROM  can  be  used  to  expand  the 
monitor  system. 


ROMs  can  be  custom  tailored  to  fit  in- 
dividual user  requirements.  New  ROM  pro- 
grams and  the  use  of  EPROMs  increase  the 
versatility  for  the  user. 

For  more  information  contact  Harold  Walker, 
National  Multiplex  Corp,,  3474  Rand  Ave„  P O. 
Box  288,  S,  Plainfield,  NJ  07080,(201)561-3600. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  146 

RS-232C  Fiberoptic  Duplex  Data  Link 

A complete,  full  duplex,  asynchronous  RS- 
232C  Dala  Link  engineered  for  computer  appli- 
cations is  designed  for  users  with  little  or  no 
experience  with  fiberoptics.  The  data  link  ac- 
cepts the  25-pin  RS-232C  electrical  plug  as  in- 
put and  converts  directly  to  optical  digital  data 
transmission.  The  output  is  connected  directly 
to  p re-terminated  fiberoptic  duplex  cable. 


Each  end  of  the  link  contains  a receiver, 
transmitter,  power  supply  and  power  cord  with 
wall  plug.  There  is  nothing  else  to  buy. 

The  link  and  terminated  cables  are  available 
from  Valtec  with  a 4-6  week  delivery.  Prices  are 
in  the  $1000  range  for  a link  pair  plus  cable 
costs  of  approximately  $1.00  per  foot.  For 
more  information  contact  Valtec  Corp.,  West 
Boylston,  MA  01583,  [617)  835-6082,  J.  Morris 
Weinberg, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  144 


136  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  W78 


Seeing  Is  Believing 

Khalsa  Computer  Systems,  Inc. 

A Professional  Approach 


Everyone  can  benefit  from  owning  a computer, 
especially  the  business  person.  But  how  can  you  find  the 
computer  that  fits  your  needs?  You  can  shop  around,  or 
you  can  come  to  Khalsa  Computer  Systems,  Inc.  We  are 
a dealership  for  many  manufacturers.  We  select  and 
stock  what  we  believe  to  be  the  finest  computer  systems 
in  every  low  cost  category*  Our  staff  is  ready  to  discuss 
your  exact  requirements,  and  help  you  sort  out  all  the 
alternatives,  including  leasing  arrangements. 


Our  ShOWfOOm  offers  you  the  opportunity  to  see  the  various  computer  systems  m a calm  and  comfortable 
environment  where  the  emphasis  is  on  effective  demonstration  and  education*  Our  friendly  staff  is  trained  to 
help  you  evaluate  and  configure  computer  systems  that  will  solve  your  immediate  problems  and  still  allow  for 
future  expansion*  In  our  showroom  we  provide  separate  booths  for  each  computer  system,  plus  reference 
books,  periodicals,  a classroom,  lounge,  and  an  office  oriented  demonstration  area. 


The  Selection  of  computers  on  display  at  Khalsa  Computer  Systems,  Inc.  represents  the  best  low  cost 
systems  available  regardless  of  manufacturer.  WeVe  done  the  research  that  guarantees  you  top  quality  hard- 
ware and  software  based  on  up-to-date  technology.  Our  systems  offer  you  low  cost  entry  at  four  figures,  yet 
give  you  more  capability  and  flexibility  than  many  larger  systems  offer  for  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  more. 
For  instance,  we  can  supply  a complete  multi-user  timesharing  system  for  under  $10,0001 


Our  service  department  offers  advanced, 


Our  software  group  consists  of  exper- 
ienced systems  analysts  and  programmers 
who  know  how  to  solve  your  data  processing 
problems.  We  provide  services  ranging  from 
simple  modifications  of  existing  software  to 
complete  design  and  implementation  of  major 
software  systems. 


efficient  service  to  meet  the  needs  of  our  clients.  We  are  proud  of  our 

new  expanded  shop  and  the  skilled  technicians 
who  can  answer  the  most  technical  questions 
about  the  equipment  we  sell.  They  are  a vital 
part  of  the  after  sales  support  offered  by  Khalsa 
Computer  Systems,  Inc. 


Come  See  Us 


SYSTEMS  BASED  ONt  Alpha  Micro  System  AM  100.  Poly  OS  13.  Industrial  Microsystem*  Cromemco  Z2D  System  i.  Processor  Technology  Sol  20.  Imsai  BGStL 
SQH5  Systems,  Vector  Graphic,  TEL  DISC  SYSTEMS:  PerKci,  Cakomp  Trident  JiO  MH-3G0MH.  ShugtirL  iCOM,  Micropolis,  North  SLar,  industrial  Microsystems. 
Crnmemca  PRINTERS  AND  TELEPRINTERS:  Ti ixas  instruments  Model  810  & SiW  70Q,  Teletype  Model  40  Si  43,  Centronics  Model  761  & 70S.  Diablo  1620  & 
1610,  Microdata  Matrix  CRT  TERMINALS:  Lear  Slegler  ADM  3 A,  Huzeltine  1500,  Adds  Regent  100  & 200.  Soroc  IQ  120.  Teitronics  Graphic  & Alphanumeric. 
MEMORY  BOARDS:  Indue  trial  Microsystems  SK,  I6K,  Dynsbyte,  Processor  Tech  IKK,  Kttemys  64K,  Ithaca  Audio  8K  Bare  Board*  SOFTWARE:  Microsoft  Basic 
4,4:  Fortran,  Digital  Research  CP^M  & MAC,  Structured  System*  QSort  General  Ledger,  Shrayer:  Electric  Pencil,  BSL  Vol,  I-Vll,  Osborne  Basic  Prog,  Disci, 
CP^M  User's  Group  Collection, 


COMPUTER  SYSTEMS  INCORPORATED 


500  South  Lake  Avenue,  Pasadena  (213)684*3311 

Tuesday  - Friday  12  noon  to  8 pm,  Saturday  12  noon  to  6 pm,  Closed  Sunday  and  Monday 

Khalsa  Computer  Systems.  Inc.  has  abo  been  known  as  the  Byte  Shop  of  Pasadena  since  we  opened  in  1976 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  73 


INTERFACE  AGE  137 


MKB-2  Keyboard 

The  new  MKB-2  Keyboard,  designed  for  use 
with  the  new  64  and  80  character  display  video 
boards,  combines  the  most  popular  keyboard 
features  with  a low.  affordable  price. 


Included  as  standard  in  the  MKB-2  are  a 
numeric  keypad,  upper  and  lower  case,  cursor 
control  keys,  2-key  rollover,  and  auto  repeat. 
Plus,  the  MKB-2  is  assembled  in  a heavy-duty 
steel  case  with  parallel  interface,  strobe  or 
pulse,  on-board  voltage  regulation  (5v  or  12v), 
complete  with  standard  DB  25S  connector, 
white  on  black  double  injection  molded  keys. 

The  MKB-2  retails  for  $149,  It  is  available 
through  MicroAge  Mail  Order,  To  order,  or  for 
more  information,  contat  MicroAge  Mail  Order, 
803  N.  Scottsdale  Rd.,  Tempo,  AZ  85281. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  142 

CSC  Small  Experimentor™  Sockets 
EXP350  and  EXP650 

The  palm-size  EXP35Q  and  EXP65G  each 
measure  Just  3.6"  long.  The  EXP35G  offers  ,3n 
center  spacing  to  accept  standard  DIP  pack- 
ages; the  EXP650  offers  the  wide  .6"  spacing 
appropriate  to  wide  LSI  DIPs. 


Their  smali  size  offers  the  opportunity  for 
bite-size  modularity  — byte-size,  in  many  ap- 
plications. This  can  happen  In  several  ways. 

For  one,  a complex  LSI  function  1C  like  a 
UART  can  be  accommodated,  along  with  perti- 
nent support  discretes  and  connecting  cables 
as  a module  on  a CSC  EXP65G. 

Or  an  LSI  function  can  be  synthesized  with 
less  complex  circuitry.  A counter,  decoder  and 
display,  for  example,  can  be  combined  on  a 
single  EXP35Q  and  treated  as  a unit  — as  can  a 
data  converter,  an  interface  circuit,  or  any  of  a 
number  of  functional  modules. 

The  EXP350  single  unit  price  Is  $5,50;  the 
EXP650,  $6,25,  For  additional  information  con- 
tact Continental  Specialties  Corp.,  70  Fulton 
Ter.,  New  Haven.  CT  06509,  {203)  624-3103 
CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  159 

ABC  1500  Kit  Reduced  to  $89,95 

Prices  have  been  reduced  more  than  50%  on 
the  Adaptable  Board  Computer  {ABC  1500)  kit, 
a complete  8-bit  microcomputer. 

The  system  can  be  used  as  a prototyping  or 
system  development  tool  for  microprocessor- 
based  systems.  The  ABC  1500  allows  a user  to 
configure  an  accurate  prototype  with  a mini- 
mum of  design  effort. 

The  ABC  system  is  available  in  either  card 
form  or  as  a kti.  The  card,  which  is  completely 
assembled  and  teste)d,  is  now  priced  at  $149  in 
unit  quantities,  reduced  from  $275,  The  kit, 


which  comes  unassembled  with  with  all  neces- 
sary ICs,  resistors,  capacitors,  and  other  com- 
ponents and  hardware  is  now  priced  at  $89.95, 
down  from  $190. 

Additional  memory  or  control  features, 
unique  input/output  circuits  and  the  like,  can 
be  added  by  connecting  selected  components 
to  the  existing  circuitry  with  jumper  wires  or 
wirewrap  connections.  Room  for  new  com- 
ponents is  amply  provided  on  the  board,  with 
plated  through  holes  in  place.  All  jumper- 
selectable  options  can  be  changed  after  a pro- 
totyping task  is  completed  to  configure  the 
board  to  an  entirely  new  system. 

Both  card  and  kit  versions  are  available  from 
stock  through  Signetics  and  its  authorized  dis- 
tributors. For  further  information  contact  Sig- 
netics, 811  E.  Arques  Ave,,  Sunnyvale,  CA 
94086,  (408)  739-7700, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  141 

New  Fram/Autolite  Customer  Order 
Processing  System  Provides  Greater 
Speed  and  Accuracy 

Fram  Corporation  has  installed  a computer- 
ized order  entry  system  which  provides  the 
capability  for  warehouse  distributors  to  enter 
orders  automatically  without  error,  and  to  im- 
mediately analyze  dollar  value  and  weight  of 
orders  for  maximum  freight  and  discount 
benefits. 


The  order  entry  system  has  been  named 
"COPS/1  an  acronym  for  Customer  Order  Pro- 
cessing Service,  It  utilizes  a teleprocessing  de- 
vice at  the  customer  location,  connected  with 
Fram  computer  facilities  at  Providence,  Rhode 
island,  through  the  General  Electric  communi- 
cations network. 

The  "COPS11  system  is  compatible  with 
other  computer  order  entry  systems,  specifi- 
cally the  Bendix  "BOSS"  system  and  the 
"Transnet”  system.  Any  distributor  utilizing 
either  of  those  systems  can  immediatiey  place 
orders  with  Fram  by  calling  the  “COPS"  ad- 
ministrator at  (401)  434-7000.  Distributors  not 
equipped  with  other  systems  can  arrange  for 
use  of  Fram  s order  entry  system  by  contact- 
ing the  "COPS"  administrator  for  details.  Fram 
Corporation,  Providence,  Rhode  Island  02916. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  156 

MRS-3000 

The  Model  MPS-3000,  a new  miniature 
modular  microprocessor  power  supply,  is  de- 
signed specifically  for  minimum  Intel  8080 
microprocessor  systems. 


This  supply  was  designed  to  meet  the  power 
needs  of  the  small  dedicated  8080  micropro- 
cessor system  in  rugged  commercial  and  in- 


dustrial applications  where  environmental  pro- 
tection is  desired. 

All  three  supplies  con  tamed  in  the  MPS-3000 
are  protected  against  short  circuits  by  fold- 
back  current  limiting.  The  supply  is  designed 
for  an  operating  temperature  range  of  GeC  to 
7QQC. 

The  MPS-3000  is  priced  at  $95.00  each  in 
single  quantities  and  at  $62.00  each  at  100 
pieces.  Delivery  is  from  stock  for  115V AC, 
220V AC  or  100VAC  operation. 

For  details  and  literature  contact  Steve  Cuff, 
Marketing  Manager,  Calex  Mfg.  Co.,  Inc.,  3305 
Vincent  Rd.,  Pleasant  Hill,  CA  94523,  (415) 
932-3911. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ.  157 

Quadruple  Output  Switching 
Power  Supply 

Gould's  MGQ-30Q  is  one  unit  offering  four  in- 
dependent switching  power  supplies.  The 
device  offers  higher  efficiency  and  flexibility 
than  similar  units  already  on  the  market. 


The  MGQ-300  features  isolated  outputs  of 
+ 5V  30 A,  -5V  5A,  and  ± 15V  2A.  Overvoltage 
and  current  protection  are  provided  on  all  out- 
puts. The  supply  will  withstand  continuous 
short  circuit  conditions  on  any  or  all  outputs. 

The  temperature  range  of  the  MGQ-300  is 
-10*C  to  + 70oC  with  a 2,5  percent  per  *C 
derating  from  50“C  at  full  output 

AN  outputs  will  remain  within  voltage  regula- 
tion at  full  load  for  28mS  after  the  removal  of 
nominal  line  voltage. 

For  further  technical  and  pricing  information 
contact  Gould,  lnc.t  Electronic  Components 
Dlv,,  4601  N.  Arden  Dr„  El  Monte,  CA  91731. 
(213)  442-7755. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  155 

New  Dynamic  Memory 

The  new  refresh  design,  named  Synchro- 
Fresh™,  is  much  simpler  than  previous  ap- 
proaches and  totaly  reliable. 


Using  SynchroFresh  refreshing  circuitry,  the 
new  8K  memories  use  half  the  power  of  static 
boards,  and  can  undersell  both  static  and  older 
design  dynamic  memories  by  considerable 
margin. 

The  Thinker  Toy  "ECONORAM  111  8K  with 
SynchroFresh"  is  supplied  as  part  of  The  Equi- 
nox™ personal  computer  system.  The  board 
win  be  supplied  by  Godbout  Electronics,  and  is 
available  by  direct  mail  from  Thinker  Toys™, 
ECQNQRAM  III  will  also  be  available  through 
local  computer  shops.  For  more  information 
contact  Thinker  Toys,  1201  10th  St.,  Berkeley, 
CA  94710,  (415)  527-7548, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  149 


138  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


$-100  Bus  Interface 

HUH  Electronic  Music  Productions  has  the 
PET'S  100  — a PET  to  S-100  Bus  interface 
board.  This  S-100  sized  card  plugs  into  the 
mainframe  of  your  choi  ce  and  a cable  connects 
it  to  your  PET  which  then  enables  you  to  use 
the  wise  range  of  peripheral  and  memory  cards 
available  for  the  S-100  bus.  The  PET'S  TOO  is 
unique  in  that  it  emulates  the  true  S-100  bus  in- 
cluding DMA,  bath  read  and  write  watt  states, 
i/O  address  mirroring,  multiplexed  status  tines 
and  much  more.  This  means  you  can  use 
Oazzlers,  Bytesavers,  slow  memory  (like  1702s) 
analog  interface  and  a whole  host  of  other 
tricky  cards. 

The  PET’S  100  Will  be  available  in  kit  or 
assembled  form  for  $199,95  or  $279.95  respec- 
tively, bul  a special  introductory  price  is  being 
offered  to  those  placing  pre-paid  orders  before 
March  31st,  1978,  This  special  offer  is  good  for 
the  kit  version  only  and  is  $169  95.  Deliveries 
are  scheduled  to  begin  in  April. 

Come  to  the  2nd  West  Coast  Computer  Faire 
and  see  it  running  in  Booth  M-1,  You  may  also 
place  your  order  at  the  Faire. 

Dealer  discounts  are  avertable.  For  more  in- 
formation contact  HUH  Electronic  Music  Pro- 
ductions, P.Q  Box  259,  Fairfax,  CA  94930,  f415) 
457-7598. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  MO.  226 

Turnkey  Minicomputer 
Client  Writeup  System 

Version  50  of  GIS-ABLE  is  a turnkey 
minicomputer  financial  control  system  for  ac- 
countants and  corporate  financial  officers. 

The  present  version  of  ABLE  features  a com- 
plete hardware  and  software  general  ledger 
package  designed  for  use  on  PDP-11  series 
minicomputers.  The  system  is  expandable  to 
64  CRT  terminals,  ABLE  Version  5B  operates  in 
single  job  or  timesharing  modes. 

ABLE  is  an  interactive  system  capable  ot 
generating  a full  range  of  reports,  journals  and 
ledgers.  Program  flexibility  permits  complete- 
ly individualized  reports  derived  from  any  chart 
of  accounts.  Based  on  user  needs,  reports  can 
be  generated  in  dollars  as  well  as  non-mone- 
tary  readouts  such  as  gallons  of  gasoline,  or 
product  units,  or  telephone  calls.  Payroll 
recording  and  analysis  also  can  be  performed 
separately,  or  an  an  integral  part  ot  ledger 
posting. 

For  more  information  on  ABLE,  contact 
General  Information  Systems,  lnc.f  2024  N 
Broadway,  Santa  Ana,  CA  92706,  (714) 
0340230. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  336 


IAS  Operating  System  for  PDP-lls 

Digital  Equipment  Corporation  has  an  en- 
hanced version  ot  its  Interactive  Application 
System  (IAS)  operating  software  for  large 
PDP-11  systems,  IAS  Version  2 is  designed  to 
support  up  to  32  interactive  users,  as  well  as 
additional  peripheral  equipment  and  software 
options. 

IAS  Version  2 is  currently  available  for  distri- 
bution to  present  users  Of  PDP  11/45, 
PDP-11/60  and  POP-11/70  systems,  or  for 
delivery  with  new  systems.  The  single-system 
license  fee  with  full  support  is  $17,160.  For 
more  information  contact  Digital  Equipment 
Corp.,  Maynard,  MA  01754,  (617)  493-2857, 
McLaren  Harris, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  343 

CP/M™  Macro  Assembler  (MAC) 

A macro  assembler,  called  “MAC/1  operates 
with  the  Digital  Research  standard  CP/M 
Diskette  Operating  System  and  implements 
the  redefined  Intel  standard  macro  facility, 
while  retaining  upward  compatibility  from 
previous  standard  assemblers. 

Documentation  Includes  the  ''MAC  Macro 
Assembler  Language  Manual  and  Applications 
Guide,"  which  is  a complete  text  on  the  use  of 


macro  facilities  for  microcomputer  software 
design.  Applicable  to  both  the  Digital  Research 
and  Intel  macro  assemblers,  this  manual  con- 
tains several  complete  examples  of  microcom- 
puter applications,  including  traffic  light  and 
machine  tool  control,  machine  instruction 
emulalion,  program  control  structures,  and 
operating  systems  interfacing  for  data  file 
management  f170  pages). 

The  diskette  containing  the  macro  assem- 
bler (machine  code  only)  is  available  with  the 
documentation  for  immediate  delivery  at  the 
price  of  $70  (diskette  order  must  be  accom- 
panies by  the  purchaser's  CP/M  serial  number). 
The  documentation  is  available  separately  for 
$15  (no  serial  number  required),  with  the  option 
ot  later  diskette  purchase  at  $60,  For  more  in- 
formal ion  contact  Digital  Research,  P.O,  Box 
579,  Pacific  Grove,  CA  93950,  (408)  373-3403. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  337 


Fully  Static  64K  ROM  - in  VMOS 

American  Microsystems,  Inc.  (AM!)  has 
fabricated  a 64K  ROM  with  the  new  VMOS 
technology. 

Designated  the  S4264,  the  BK  x 8 ROM  yields 
substantial  cost  reductions  by  reducing  the 
number  of  parts  required,  simplifying  printed 
circuit  boards  and  eliminating  I he  need  tor 
clock  signals  to  the  ROM.  in  addition,  the 
S4264  offers  a maximum  access  time  of  350 
nanoseconds  and  reduces  power  requirements 
to  only  145  milliwatts  maximum  for  the  65,536 
bit  chip, 


The  64 K ROM  is  contained  In  a 24-pin  pack- 
age and  requires  a single  socket  to  replace 
four  16K  ROMs  in  existing  designs  for  display 
terminals,  plug-in  computer  language  modules 
and  numerous  control  applications  In,  for  ex- 
ample, video  games  or  industrial  controls. 

Evaluation  products  are  available.  Prices  are 
negotiated  on  the  basis  of  quantities  ordered, 
bu!  will  be  about  S50.0Q  in  quantities  of  5Q0. 
Send  product  and  literature  inquiries  10  Ameri- 
can Microsystems.  Inc.,  3BQQ  Homestead  Rd  , 
Sanla  Clara,  CA  95051,  (408)  246-D33Q, 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO  234 

Multi-Protocol  Serial  I/O  Circuit 

Zilog,  lncM  has  a high-speed,  dual-channel, 
multi-protocol  serial  data  communications 
controller  circuit  — the  single-chip  ZB0-S3O  — 
tor  advanced  LSI  microcomputer  systems. 


The  serial  input/output  controller,  an  N/MOS 
40-pln  device,  is  a multi-function  peripheral 
component  that  can  control  communications 
peripherals  and  format  data  in  data  communi- 
cations networks. 


Designed  to  work  with  Zilog's  ZBD  micro- 
computer family  and  also  easy  to  interface 
with  most  other  8-bit  and  16-bit  processors,  the 
Z80-3IO  supports  the  'Daisy  Chain”  Interrupt 
structure  ot  the  Z80-CPU  for  fast,  powerful  in- 
terrupt processing  with  no  added  hardware 
overhead. 

Pricing  for  the  ZS0-S1O  in  small  quantities  is 
$54  in  a 40-pin  ceramic  package  and  $49  in  a 
40-pin  plastic  DIP.  Delivery  is  off  the  shelf.  For 
detailed  information  contact  Zi log , 10460  Bubb 
Rd,,  Cupertino.  CA  95014,  (408)  446-4666. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO-  225 


“Pad  Per-Hole”  Boards 


A family  ot  large-area  "pad-per-hole" 
plugboards  permit  convenient  breadboard! ng 
of  either  custom  circuits  or  S-100  bus  compat 
ibie  boards. 


All  boards  have  an  Isolated  array  of  square 
solder  pads  surrounding  0.1  inch  spaced  holes. 
The  45P60-1  has  a mounting  area  of  36  36 
square  inches,  and  the  106P106-1  has  a mount- 
ing area  of  112.36  square  inches.  Both  boards 
are  fabricated  without  card  edge  connectors 
and  may  be  cut  to  any  desired  shape. 

The  third,  designated  the  Model  8801,  is 
form  and  fit  compatible  with  the  S-100  bus 
system,  accommodates  DIP  devices,  modules 
and  discrete  components  necessary  for  micro- 
processor cpu,  memory,  and  interface  circuits. 

The  Model  8801  board  is  priced  at  $19,95 
each,  the  45P80-1  is  priced  at  $9.96  each  and 
the  1Q6P106-1  is  priced  at  $18,99  each.  Quan- 
tity discounts  are  available  and  delivery  is  from 


Stock,  For  more  information  contact  Vector 
Electronic  Go,,  Inc,,  12460  Gladstone  Ave., 
Sylmar,  CA  91342,  (213)  365-9661. 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ,  296 


Printed  Circuit  Test  Jack 

This  horizontal  test  jack  Is  designed  as  a 
low-profile,  double-entry  industry  standard 
printed  circuit  test  jack  and  meets  M1L-C 
39024/11. 


> 


Dense  packaging  on  ,160  centers  is  possible 
because  of  the  low  profile  and  narrow  width. 
These  test  jacks  have  a rugged  molded  nylon 
housing  in  various  standard  coiors,  and  tough 
'hour  glass"  designed  beryllium  copper  con- 
tacts of  various  finishes  and  printed  circuit  tail 
lengths.  The  double  entry  design  permits  probe 
insertion  from  either  end.  An  internal  closed 
entry  feature  prevents  the  insertion  of  over- 
sized probes. 

For  more  information  contact  Eby  Go..  4701 
Germantown  Ave.,  Philadelphia,  PA  19144, 
(215)  842  3000. 

CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NQ  289 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  139 


GETTING  INVOLVED  WITH 
YOUR  OWN  COMPUTER 
A Guide  for  Beginners 
By  Leslie  Solomon  and 
Stanley  Veit 

Ridley  Enslow  Publishers 

Review  by  Barbara  R.  Schwartz 


Until  now,  most  computer  books 
have  been  for  the  commercial  mar- 
ket, people  involved  in  data  process- 
ing using  computers  at  their  work- 
place or  school*  Now,  however,  with 
the  advent  of  the  affordable  home 
computer,  a definite  market  exists 
for  a computer  book  written  for  the 
hobbyist.  Getting  involved  With 
Your  Own  Computer  fills  this  need 
and  does  it  quite  well. 

The  book  starts  out  with  an  intro- 
duction that  describes  the  history  of 
computing  devices,  such  as  the 
abacus,  the  pocket  calculator,  and 
the  development  of  the  micropro- 
cessor. The  first  chapter  is  written 
to  inspire  the  reader  to  read  the  rest 
of  the  book,  by  describing  various 
uses  of  a personal  computer. 

The  second  chapter  describes 
sources  of  information  on  compu- 
ters, including  magazines,  books, 
catalogs,  clubs  and  computer  stores. 

The  third  chapter,  entitled  “How 
to  Communicate  with  a Computer,1' 
is  an  introduction  to  the  understand- 
ing of  binary,  decimal,  octal  and 
hexadecimal  numbering  systems. 

The  next  chapter  goes  on  to  de- 
scribe the  five  basic  parts  of  a com- 
puter: The  central  processing  unit 
(CPU);  the  memory,  which  stores 
computer  programs  and  the  results 
of  calculations;  the  input/output  (I/O) 
through  which  data  enter  and  leave 
the  computer;  the  clock,  which 
causes  things  to  happen  in  se- 
quence; and  the  power  supply, 
which  provides  the  direct  current  to 
the  computer. 

This  chapter  further  elaborates  on 
these  parts  of  the  system,  and  in- 
cludes a short  discussion  of  how 
the  elements  are  added  together  in 
the  system.  A simple  discussion 
follows,  describing  the  bus  struc- 
tures. The  discussion  then  proceeds 
to  various  systems  modules,  such 
as  audio  cassette  storage,  video  in- 
terface boards  and  I/O  boards,  and 
floppy  disks. 

The  fifth  chapter,  "Thanks  for  the 


Memory,”  covers  various  kinds  of 
memory  and  defines  the  two  basic 
types  of  memory  used  by  a hobbyist, 
RAM  or  random  access  memory, 
(which  remembers  the  data  only 
while  the  power  is  on),  and  ROM, 
read  only  memory  whose  data  is  not 
lost  when  the  power  is  off*  Further 
descriptions  are  given  of  forms  of 
mass  storage  such  as  disk  and  tape. 

After  covering  the  basic  types  of 
computers  and  memory,  the  book 
then  moves  on  to  what  must  be  one 
of  your  first  concerns,  “What  Kind 
of  Equipment  Should  You  Start 
With?”  The  book  describes  various 
teaching  type  machines,  such  as 
training  devices,  the  CARDIAC,  a 
cardboard  gadget  which  supposedly 
simulates  a computer;  the  Ohio 
Scientific  Model  300  Trainer;  the 
Texas  Instruments  Microprocessor 
Learning  Module  System,  and  the 
Isasis  la  7301  Computer  in  a Book* 
The  chapter  then  goes  on  to  discuss 
evaluation  kits,  one  board  com- 
puters, and  mainframe  computers. 
Attention  is  also  given  on  what  to 
buy,  and  some  hints  on  kit  building 
are  included. 

The  next  four  chapters  describe 
some  common  computers  which 
you  might  be  considering  buying. 
Chapter  7 describes  the  Altai r,  IM- 
SAI  and  other  machines  using  the 
S-1Q0  bus.  Chapter  8 discusses 
various  6800  systems,  including  the 
Southwest  Technical  Products  Cor- 
poration 6800  and  the  Altai  r 880b. 
Chapter  9 discusses  the  products  of 
The  Digital  Group,  and  Chapter  10 
discusses  other  computers  that  you 
might  want  to  look  at  before  making 
your  final  decision,  such  as  the  Ap- 
ple 1,  PET  (Personal  Electronics 
Transactor)  by  Commodore  Busi- 
ness Machines,  and  several  others. 
This  section  is  fairly  up  to  date,  but 
such  recent  computers  as  the  Heath- 
kit  line  are  not  covered. 

The  next  chapter  discusses  peri- 
pherals and  input/output  devices 
and  introduces  the  functions  of  the 
UART,  {Universal  Asynchronous  Re- 
ceiver Transmitter),  which  is  used 
for  converting  data  from  parallel  to 
serial  form  (and  vice  versa). 

Chapter  12  discusses  the  various 
types  of  software  available  for  your 
home  computer,  including  machine 
language,  assembly  language,  and 
higher  level  languages  such  as 
BASIC. 

The  final  chapter  is  an  expanded 
version  of  the  material  at  the  front  of 


the  book  on  uses  for  your  own  per- 
sonal computer.  The  various  appen- 
dices cover  the  abacus,  the  Altair 
S-100  bus,  ASCII  code,  “The  Care 
and  Feeding  of  Your  Computer," 
and  “What  Do  You  Do  When  Some- 
thing Goes  Wrong?” 

On  the  whole,  I think  this  book  is  a 
worthwhile  addition  to  the  comput- 
ing literature  and  it  is  especially  to 
be  noted  for  being  as  updated  as  any 
book  can  be,  considering  the  fast 
changing  nature  of  the  field.  The 
basic  information  is  presented  quite 
clearly,  and  on  the  whole,  I think  that 
Veit  and  Solomon  have  done  an  ex- 
cellent job.  I can  certainly  recom- 
mend the  purchase  of  the  book  for 
any  novice. 


BASIC 

By  Samuel  L.  Marateck 
The  Courante  Institute  of 
Mathematical  Sciences, 

New  York  University, 
Academic  Press 

Review  by  Barbara  R.  Schwartz 


Marateck’s  BASIC  is  one  of  the 
better  introductory  texts  on  the 
BASIC  language,  currently  the  most 
common  higher  level  language  for 
personal  computer  users. 

The  one  drawback  of  the  book  for 
such  users  is  that  it  was  designed 
for  the  user  of  a GE,  DEC(PDP),  CDC 
or  Untvac  computer  with  footnotes 
describing  the  differences  for  such 
computers  as  the  Hewlett-Packard 
2000  series  or  the  XDS  Sigma  series, 
IBM  360,  IBM  370  or  CDC  6600  com- 
puters. Therefore,  the  systems  com- 
mands, and  the  actual  BASIC  lan- 
guage itself  might  be  different  for 
the  computer  that  you  are  using.  So, 
this  book  must  be  read  in  conjunc- 
tion with  your  own  system  manual 
to  be  of  use  to  you*  Still,  the  quality 
of  the  presentation  of  BASIC  is  such 
that  this  book  can  be  heartily  recom- 
mended for  purchase,  despite  the 
occasional  conversion  problem  that 
you  may  have  in  running  these  pro- 
grams on  your  computer* 

The  book  is  basically  divided  into 
two  parts.  On  each  set  of  pages,  the 
right  page  contains  one  or  several 
small  programs,  or  tables,  what 
Marateck  calls  pictures,  Marateck 
follows  the  rule  of  generally  adding 


140  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


only  one  new  concept  in  each  pro* 
gram,  so  the  programs  illustrated 
are  generally  fairly  small.  The  left 
hand  page  of  each  pair  contains  a 
greatly  amplified  discussion  of  the 
picture  page  and  is  especially  useful 
for  first  time  programmers.  Indeed, 
if  you  have  previous  experience  in 
BASIC  or  any  other  programming 
language,  you  can  get  a fairly  good 
introduction  to  BASIC  by  reading 
only  the  picture  pages  in  conjunc- 
tion with  a computer,  or  even 
without  a computer.  When  ( first 
read  this  book,  I only  skimmed 
through  the  picture  pages,  so  I can 
assure  you  that  this  can  be  done. 

Another  example  of  how  this  book 
has  been  designed  to  be  helpful  is 
that  words  underlined  in  the  cap- 
tions describe  lines  underlined  in 
the  figures  on  the  picture  page. 

There  are  problems  at  the  end  of 
each  chapter,  generally  asking  the 
reader  to  write  programs  or  figure 
out  what  the  results  of  a given  pro- 
gram will  be.  After  running  the  pic- 
ture programs  on  your  computer, 
you  are  thus  given  a chance  to  write 
your  own  programs  or  check  out 
ideas  on  how  a given  program  will 
work. 

The  book  generally  covered  just 
about  all  the  BASIC  you  will  need  to 
know.  It  starts  out  by  covering 
PRINT  and  assignment  statements, 
and  then  moves  on  to  cover  the 
READ,  DATA,  GO  TO,  IF  and  INPUT 
statements.  Further  chapters  cover 
the  FOR'NEXT  loop,  strings  and 
library  functions.  The  book  also 
covers  such  statements  as  the  PRINT 
USING  statement,  a formatted  out- 
put statement,  which  is  not  even  In- 
cluded in  all  BASIC  languages. 

In  summary,  Mara  tec  k's  BASIC  is 
a well-written  introduction  to  simple 
BASIC  and  It  is  well  worth  purchas- 
ing and  performing  whatever  conver- 
sions are  necessary  to  bring  your 
BASIC  info  line  with  the  version  of 
BASIC  used  in  the  book. 


SOME  COMMON  BASIC 
PROGRAMS 

By  Lon  Poole  and  Mary  Borchers 
Adam  Osborne  & Associates,  Inc. 
192  pages 

Review  by  Col.  E.  Wingfield  Verner 


Some  Common  Basic  Problems 
contains  seventy-six  relatively  short 
and  easily  entered  programs  of  very 
practical  utility.  The  authors  have  in- 
telligently utilized  a restricted 


subset  of  common  BASIC  state- 
ments to  allow  compatibility  with  as 
many  versions  of  BASIC  as  pos- 
sible. The  liberal  use  of  remarks  not 
only  allows  the  reader  to  easily 
follow  program  flow  and  to  make 
minor  modifications,  but  provides 
the  neophyte  programmer  with  a 
valuable  learning  tool, 

Reading  through  the  index  will  im- 
press the  prospective  purchaser 
with  the  wide  variety  of  supplied 
programs.  Areas  covered  include 
finance,  statistics,  vectors,  matrix 
manipulations,  regressions,  equa- 
tion solutions,  numerical  integration 
and  differentiation,  permutations 
and  combinations,  and  the  plotting 
of  both  rectangular  and  polar  co- 
ordinates. 

This  writer  has  personally  used  a 
considerable  number  of  these  pro- 
grams in  a small  college  system  and 
views  the  experience  with  mixed 
feelings.  A case  in  point  Is  the  anglo 
to  metric  conversion  program.  Six- 
teen of  the  seventeen  conversions 
generate  wrong  answers.  As  a mat- 
ter of  fact  the  sample  run  provided 
with  the  program  can  be  seen  to  give 
wrong  answers  by  inspection.  The 
fix  Is  simple,  but  such  an  obvious 
fatal  error  in  a straightforward  pro- 
gram forces  one  to  feel  more  than  £ 
little  apprehensive  when  using 
some  of  the  more  complex  programs 
for  real  world  application. 

The  other  feature  that  proved  ob- 
jectionable was  the  requirement  to 
write  specific  line  numbers  prior  to 
running  a program.  This  requirement 
makes  the  programs,  as  written, 
useless  if  you  have  a run  package 
and  compiler  rather  than  a less 
sophisticated  interpreter  Even  with 
an  interpreter,  the  computer  opera- 
tor is  forced  to  refer  back  to  the 
book  prior  to  running  a program  to 
determine  if  a statement  is  required 
and  If  so,  how  it  is  to  be  written 
Most  of  these  objections  could  have 
been  easily  eliminated  by  the  simple 
expedient  of  utilizing  the  input  com- 
mand, and  forcing  the  computer  to 
generate  the  required  statements  in 
response  to  operator  input. 

In  spite  of  the  problems  encoun- 
tered with  some  of  the  programs,  it 
is  strongly  felt  that  Some  Common 
Basic  Programs  is  well  worth  the 
purchase  price,  it  represents  one  of 
the  best  software  bargains  available. 

The  authors  are  to  be  commended 
for  their  efforts  in  helping  to  fill  the 
software  void  for  the  small  system 
user.  A little  more  effort  expended  in 
program  debugging  and  In  eliminat- 
ing the  unwieldly  run  requirements 
should  assure  the  success  of  any 
future  releases. 


USER’S  MANUAL  FOR 
LEVEL  1 RADIO  SHACK 
TRS-80  MICRO  COMPUTER 
SYSTEM 

By  David  A.  Lien 

Radio  Shack,  Ft.  Worth,  TX,  1977 

Review  by  Don  M.M.  Booker 


Terrible  name  for  a great  book. 
This  should  be  called  Fun  BASIC . 
The  author’s  note  claims  “this  is  not 
a conventional  book/’  For  a change, 
that’s  a claim  truly  made.  While  he 
signs  in  as  Dr.  David  A.  Lien,  don't 
hold  it  against  him.  In  an  effort  to 
make  this  book  easy  to  read,  and 
easy  to  enjoy,  he  has  used  “every 
fair  and  unfair,  conventional  and  un- 
conventional, flamboyant  and  ridicu- 
lous technique’1  he  could  think  of  — 
mostly  lots  of  bad  jokes,  and  quick 
apologies  for  the  introduction  of 
anything  that  even  vaguely  smacks 
of  jargon.  (There  is  still  enough  to 
impress  your  friends,  so  don’t 
worry.) 

The  author’s  aim  is  to  make  learm 
ing  BASIC  fun  and  I think  he  has 
succeeded.  He  suggests  that  you 
“sit  back  and  relax  and  read  slowly 
as  though  savoring  a good  novel;” 
well,  I like  to  read  fast-paced  novels 
and  rip  through  them  at  breakmeck 
speed.  And  you  can  do  that  with  this 
one.  It  is  a little  short  on  plot,  but  if 
you  are  the  type  that  likes  to  read 
books  and  magazines  from  the  back 
forwards  (as  I am),  then  this  is  the 
book  for  you.  Typical  of  the  style  is 
the  “Note  on  Using  the  Recorder" 
on  page  3:  "Some  of  this  will  be 
covered  in  greater  detail  in  Chapter 
9 . . . but  some  of  you  can’t  wait  till 
then  . . . can  you!"  (author’s  em- 
phasis). 

An  "interactive"  tone  pervades 
the  entire  book.  You  get  the  feeling 
that  Dave  (and  you  feel  it  is  Dave, 
not  Dr.  Lien)  is  talking  with  you,  not 
down  at  you.  This  approach  is 
helped  by  a layout  that  is  a modified 
programmed  instruction  format.  The 
use  of  blocked  grey  backgrounds 
and  two  “pages"  per  page  allows  a 
clear  emphasis  of  what  might  other- 
wise be  vague  points.  But  more  im- 
portantly, it  helps  to  sustain  a con- 
versational tone,  with  the  extra  em- 
phasis, (reinforcements),  feeling 
more  like  a normal  conversational 
aside  that  transmits  enthusiasm, 
rather  than  the  usual  P.l.  “bell  and 
shock"  approach. 

Not  only  the  layout,  but  the  pre- 
sentation has  the  best  of  the  P.l.  ap- 
proach, without  its  boring  qualities. 
The  material  is  clearly  broken  down 
into  bite-sized  pieces  and  sand- 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  141 


wiched  with  plenty  of  natural  ex- 
amples and  sample  problems  which 
flow  along  with  the  narrative  without 
the  usual  tacked-on  "here's  a pro- 
blem you  solve”  feeling.  There  are 
clear  working  solutions  provided  — 
22  pages  of  them  — and  the  humor 
(?)  helps  rather  than  detracts. 

This  "we  are  solving  a problem” 
sense  is  immeasurably  aided  by  the 
manual's  complete  tie-in  (naturally) 
with  the  TRS-80.  While  I would  rec- 
ommend this  book  to  anyone  want- 
ing a painless  introduction  to  BASIC, 
I would  also  practically  force  them 
to  use  a TRS-80  with  it:  not  because, 
as  is  the  case  with  most  other  books 
on  BASIC,  it  is  almost  required,  but 
because  you  would  miss  all  the  fun 
if  you  do  not  have  a handy  TRS-80. 
The  problem  with  most  texts  on 
BASIC  (from  an  old  hand’s  point  of 
view)  Is  that  the  reader  cannot  be 
sure  that  what  the  book  says  will 
happen,  will  actually  happen  in  the 
computer  he  is  using,  exactly  the 
way  the  book  describes  it;  not 
almost,  or  sometimes,  but  always 
and  exactly  that  way.  When  you  can 
be  sure  the  computer  you  are  using 
will  tie  in  with  the  book  exactly,  it 
means  you  can  learn  from  the  begin- 
ning that  a computer  does  what  you 
teli  it  and  not  the  other  way  around. 

The  first  program  on  page  8 may 


not  excite  you  automata  theorists 
and  robotics  experts,  but  if  it  is  the 
first  program  you  have  ever  written,  I 
am  sure  it  Is  just  as  much  fun  and 
probably  more  exciting  than  the 
usual  "find  the  square  root  of  x" 
problem.  At  least,  I would  rather 
have  a book  that  shows  me  how  to 
teach  my  computer  how  to  talk  to 
me,  even  if  all  it  says  is  "Hello, 
there.  I’m  your  new  TRS-80  micro- 
computer." 

For  more  sophisticated  fun  we 
get  TRS-80  graphics  commands  by 
Chapter  20,  with  more  advanced 
graphics  in  Chapter  22.  (That  is  not 
as  bad  as  it  sounds  — each  of  the  26 
chapters  averages  only  6 pages, 
with  lots  of  white  space  and  pic- 
tures — most  of  them  a slightly  an- 
thropomorphic TRS-80.)  There  is 
even  coverage  of  modular  program- 
ming and  an  excellent  final  chapter 
on  debugging,  which  ties  In  well 
with  a comprehensive  Function  and 
ROM  test  hardware  exerciser  in  Ap- 
pendix C.  This  enables  and  encour- 
ages the  novice  to  disabuse  him  or 
herself  of  the  habit  that  "it's  got  to 
be  in  the  hardware."  There  is  even 
some  stylish  indentation  and  "struc- 
ture” in  the  sample  programs  to  en- 
courage good  habits  by  example, 
rather  than  preaching  "structured 
programming”  (which,  if  repeated  at 


9,  12,  and  3,  wilt  solve  all  program- 
ming problems). 

There  is  also  a selection  of  sam- 
ple programs  provided  in  Part  C,  that 
cover  the  usual  range  of  simple 
games  (Slowpoke,  Wheel  of  For- 
tune, Craps),  stock  market  and  per- 
sonal finance,  and  limited  interest 
technical  (Design  Program  for  a 
Cubical  Quad  Antenna)  subjects, 
There  is  even  a poetry  program  bas- 
ed on  "On  a Snowy  Evening”  by 
Robert  Frost.  As  the  author  says,  "if 
this  one  doesn't  grab  you,  nothing 
will!” 

This  book  definitely  does  not  de- 
serve the  "technical  manual”  conno- 
tations that  its  title  implies.  A horri- 
ble technical  manual  it  is  not.  As  an 
introduction  to  BASIC  it  rates  tops. 
This  is  because  the  author's  goals 
are  successfully  carried  out,  but 
more  importantly,  they  are  also  the 
goals  of  the  reader.  “The  real  enjoy- 
ment begins  when  your  imagination 
starts  the  creative  juices  flowing, 
and  the  computer  becomes  a tool  in 
your  own  hands.  You  become  its 
master  — not  the  other  way  around. 
At  that  point,  it  evolves  from  just  a 
box  of  parts  into  an  extension  of 
your  personality.  Enjoy  your  new 
computer!"  And  enjoy  your  intro- 
duction to  communication  with  your 
computer  in  BASIC. 


142  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


By  A.  A.  Perez,  Software  Editor 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 
SOFTWARE  DOCUMENTATION 

As  you  have  probably  gathered  from  Carl's  editorial, 
and  comments  made  by  myself  and  readers  of  the  maga- 
zine, there  is  a very  definite  problem  In  the  under- 
standing of  software  documentation.  Therefore,  to  help 
in  the  understanding  of  what  documentation  rs,  and  the 
correct  method(s)  of  creating  it,  we  are  offering  this 
series  of  documentation  editorials. 

Last  month,  the  basic  phases  of  a software  project 
were  discussed.  This  month  I will  present  the  impor- 
tance of  the  supportive  documentation,  and  the  types  of 
documentation  required. 

HARDWARE  DOCUMENTATION 

!n  the  fabrication  of  hardware  items,  several 
documents  are  generated  called  engineering  products. 
These  engineering  products  are  used  to  record  the 
plans  and  schedules  for  the  execution  of  various  phases 
of  the  project,  thus  ensuring  the  timely  delivery  of  the 
items  being  fabricated. 

The  most  familiar  engineering  products  for  hardware 
fabrication  are:  The  detailed  drawing,  assembly  draw- 
ing, and  user's  manual.  These  few  engineering  products 
allow  the  experienced  hardware  engineer  to  visualize 
the  final  finished  product.  In  other  words,  the  hardware 
engineer  has  something  tangible  to  work  with,  even 
before  final  assembly, 

SOFTWARE  DOCUMENTATION 

In  the  software  engineering  world,  there  is  a need  for 
engineering  products  similar  to  that  required  for  hard- 
ware engineering.  These  software  engineering  products 
perform  the  same  function  as  hardware  engineering  pro- 
ducts. That  is,  they  map  out  the  various  steps  that  en- 
sure the  timely  delivery  of  the  final  software  product(s). 

However,  the  situation  is  more  complex  for  software 
products.  This  complexity  arises  from  the  fact  that  we  are 
dealing  with  something  that  has  more  than  the  usual  three 
or  four  dimensions  of  length,  width,  height,  and  time* 

Unfortunately,  we  are  not  yet  at  the  stage  in  software 
engineering  to  say  that  some  system  constant  (para- 
meter), will  not  vary  with  time*  The  so-called  non-varying 
constants  of  software,  if  any,  are  only  familiar  to  soft- 
ware and  computer  scientists  who  specialize  in  analyz- 
ing software  and  information  handling  techniques. 

What  is  being  alluded  to  is  that,  due  to  the  complex 
nature  and  varying  working  environments  of  software, 
you  don't  have  a program  or  viable  software  without  the 
associated  documentation.  As  the  old  saying  goes, 


“without  the  documentation,  the  program  is  useless." 
The  documentation  is  important  since  it  defines  the 
parts  of  the  program  in  relationship  to  the  working  en- 
vironment, and  how  the  program  changes  with  time* 

What  happens  to  hardware  is  more  familiar  to  the 
human  user  than  what  happens  to  a piece  of  software* 
With  hardware  we  are  dealing  with  a tangible  item.  With 
software  we  are  dealing  with  a tangible  piece  of  informa- 
tion which  changes  Its  behavior  with  time  and  environ- 
ment. Unless  we  keep  track  of  the  history  of  the  environ- 
ment to  which  a piece  of  code  is  subjected  to,  the  rela- 
tion of  the  original  to  the  subsequent  code  is*  at  best, 
difficult  to  correlate*  At  worst*  some  unexpected 
behavior  of  the  environment  happens,  and  after  that  we 
realty  have  a problem  of  addressing  what  could  have 
happened  to  the  original  software. 

CONFIGURATION  MANAGEMENT 

The  engineering  multidiscipline  of  software  con- 
figuration management,  if  adequately  set  up  from  the 
beginning  of  the  software  project*  can  be  very  helpful 
because  it  attempts  to  identify*  account,  and  control  all 
changes  to  the  subject  software.  Even  for  a one-man  soft- 
ware engineering  house,  configuration  management  tech- 
niques can  be  very  helpful*  But  as  in  every  good  thing  to 
have,  it  costs  resources  to  maintain  a software  configura- 
tion management  activity.  Good  documentation  is  the 
basic  staple  of  software  configuration  management  (S/W, 
C//W).  There  are  many  types  of  documentation  that  the 
operator  of  the  S/W,  C/M  activity  needs  to  start  and 
maintain*  The  variety  of  documents  depends  on  the 
phase  and  size  fo  the  software  engineering  project. 

Keep  in  mind  that  it  costs  resources,  (financial  and 
personal)*  to  initiate  and  maintain  a software  configura- 
tion management  organization.  However*  for  a fairly 
large  software  project*  to  avoid  the  pitfalls  and  head- 
aches which  develop  out  of  dealings  with  a smart  cus- 
tomer, the  cost  of  resources  for  software  configuration 
management  is  well  worth  the  investment. 

Another  bonus  that  comes  with  good  documentation, 
on  which  S/W,  C/M  depends*  is  the  ease  with  which  new 
personnel  to  the  software  project  can  catch  up  to  be- 
come productive.  For  example,  using  the  HIPO  docu- 
mentation technique  described  by  Tom  Fay  in  this 
issue*  l managed  to  understand*  in  a little  more  than  two 
weeks*  the  structure  and  operation  of  a quarter-million 
instruction  real  time  operating  system  for  a large  space 
system  software  project. 

SOFTWARE  DOCUMENTS  AND  THEIR  DESIGN 

Some  of  the  documents  required  in  a software  engi- 


APRIL  7978 


INTERFACE  AGE  7 43 


neering  project  are  listed  below.  The  documents  that  are 
initiated  and  maintained  depends  on  the  personal  judge* 
ment  ot  the  software  project  engineer. 

Development  Specification  establishes  the  require- 
ments far  performance,  design,  test,  and  qualification  of 
a eomptuer  program.  This  is  the  major  section  of  the 
system's  program  development  specifications.  It  shall 
consist  of  a series  of  paragraphs  which  specify  in  detail 
the  performance  requirements,  design  constraints  of 
standards  to  ensure  proper  development  of  the  compu- 
ter program.  It  shall  further  establish  the  requirements 
which  normally  will  be  verified  during  category  I, 
equivalent  tests. 

Requirements  will  be  specified  to  the  level  of  detail 
necessary  to  establish  limits  of  design.  Quantitative  re- 
quirements shall  be  within  three  principal  subparagraphs. 

Product  Specification;  this  document  establishes  the 
requirements  for  complete  identification  of  the  program,  to 
be  formally  accepted  by  the  procuring  activity.  This  will 
include  a brief  review  of  the  major  functions  of  the  com- 
plete program.  The  development  specifications,  com- 
pared to  the  product  specifications,  seem  to  list  all  the 
features  which  the  inspired  design  would  like  to  consider 
nice  to  have.  The  product  specifications  set  down  the 
practical  things  that  may  be  implemented  and  delivered. 

interface  Specifications  are  designed  to  bring  to- 
gether, into  a single  document,  all  available  data  and  inter- 
faces between  operational  programmers.  This  document 
also  defines  the  environment  of  the  computer  program. 

Validation  Test  Plan;  the  extent  of  this  document 
shall  be  governed  by  the  tests,  requirements  and  accep- 
tance criteria  defined  in  the  application  development 
specifications.  It  shall  specify  the  method  and  content 
for  each  product  test  activity.  The  validation  test  plan 
shall  define  the  detailed  design  requirements  and  shall 
contain,  to  the  extent  applicable,  the  specific  types  of 
information  for  the  level  of  testing  being  described. 

Test  Management;  this  paragraph  shall  define  the  in- 
dividual detailed  responsibilities  for  conducting  and  co- 
ordinating the  given  test  activity.  It  shall  distinguish  be- 
tween: Contractor  responsibilities,  other  agency  respon- 
sibilities, and  associated  supplier  responsibilities. 

Validation  Test  Procedure;  this  document  shall  be 
developed  from  the  validation  test  pian  and/or  develop- 
ment specifications  test  regulations,  and  shall  present 
detailed  instructions  for  each  level  of  testing  specified 
in  the  test  plan.  These  procedures  are  intended  for  use 
by  personnel  responsible  for  unification  of  program  con- 
tent and  operation,  from  initiation  to  completion  of  pro- 
gram development. 

The  primary  requirements  of  this  document  is  that  it 
present  a complete,  well-organized,  and  unambiguous 
procedure  covering  all  aspects  of  operation.  The  amount 
of  detail  necessary  to  accomplish  this  varies  with  the 
level  of  testing  involved,  and  must  be  determined  for 
each  particular  case.  As  such,  the  requirements  contained 
herein  are  to  be  considered  the  minimum  acceptable  cov- 


erage and  should  not  be  construed  as  limiting  the  scope 
or  degree  of  detail  necessary  in  a particular  document. 

Computer  Operator’s  Manual;  this  document  shall  pre- 
sent procedures  covering  pre-standby  operation,  moni- 
toring, recovery,  and  maintenance  of  the  computer  pro- 
gram. The  minimal  operational  environment  shall  be  de- 
scribed in  terms  of  its  component  parts.  This  document 
shall  not  include  procedures  for  system  operation  direct- 
ly in  support  of  the  operational  mission.  That  is,  the 
operator's  manual  shall  be  limited  to  instructions  tor  pre- 
paring and  maintaining  the  computer  program  in  the  re- 
quired state  of  capability,  in  order  that  the  operational 
mission  may  be  accomplished. 


This  complexity  arises  from 
the  fact  that  we  are 
dealing  with  something  more 
than  the  usual  three 
or  four  dimensions  of  length, 
width,  height,  and  time. 


SUMMARY 

Program  maintenance,  program  assembling  and  load- 
ing, development  test  plan,  and  development  test  proce- 
dures, are  other  documents  which  are  very  important  in 
the  operation  of  a computer  to  accomplish  the  intended 
software  project,  in  a correct  manner.  However,  these 
are  subjects  which  will  be  covered  in  future  issues. 

Some  of  these  documentation  efforts  are  started  and 
executed  during  the  implementation  phases  under  the 
title  of  validation  and  verification,  (V&V),  and  can  best  be 
performed  by  an  independent  testing  and  analytical 
organization.  The  developers  of  the  system  are  too  close 
to  the  day-in-day-out  problems.  Therefore,  it  is  usually 
better  to  get  an  outside  V&V  team,  (even  with  the  same, 
company),  who  have  a fresh  outlook  on  the  problem.  I 
have  personally  had  the  pleasure  of  being  invited  to  be  a 
member  of  a V&V  team,  assembled  from  several  divi- 
sions of  a large  corporation,  to  direct  the  validation  and 
verification  effort  on  a major  real  time  program  which 
was  originally  scheduled  for  a half-dozen  flfght  tests 
but,  as  a result  of  design  errors  discovered  by  the  V&V 
team,  was  reduced  to  three  or  four  tests. 

Next  month,  I will  continue  with  software  documentation 
by  investigating  other  useful  documents  and  their  uses. 

For  those  of  you  who  have  a spec///c  question  regard - 
ing  documentation  or  software  development,  please 
write  to  me  at  INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine,  P.Q.  Box 
1234,  Cerritos,  CA  90701 . / will  either  answer  you  direct- 
iy  or  within  this  editorial.  □ 


144  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  7978 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


Floppy  ROM 

Loading  Techniques  — Part  II 


By  Orv  Balcom 


Have  you  ever  noticed  that  when  a guy  is  good  he  is 
very  very  good?  As  you  read  Orv's  loading  techniques , 
part  two , you  wilt  find  out  what  it  is  like  to  touch  base 
with  an  excellent  engineer 
In  Part  I,  Orv  covered  the  hardware  techniques  re- 
quired to  strip  data  off  the  Floppy  ROM  % with  the  least 
amount  of  trouble.  This  article  provides  you  with  error 
recovery  software  to  make  the  ROM  even  more  useful. 

— Editor 


Alright,  all  you  good  buddies  out  there  in  computer- 
land,  you're  right.  I did  it  to  you  in  Part  I.  i left  you  hang- 
ing worse  than  1000  GOTO  1000.  In  my  first  article,  I 
mentioned  that  a single  error  could  crash  a whole  tape, 
but  gave  no  hint  of  what  to  do  about  it.  I assume  the 
more  ingenious  of  you  got  together  and  collected  from 
friends  enough  good  files  to  make  up  a complete  sys- 
tem. But,  what  about  the  poor  feliow  who  is  isolated 
from  the  rest  of  the  computer  people.  He  has  a problem. 

This  article  will  tell  how  to  remove  that  little  glitch 
from  the  start  of  your  Floppy  ROM  cassette  file  so  you 
can  recover  the  remainder  of  the  file.  We’ll  lose  one  or 
two  lines  in  the  process,  but  since  INTERFACE  AGE 
always  provides  the  source  text.  It  is  only  a matter  of 
retyping  the  lost  lines  to  recover  the  whole  file.  It  sure 
beats  typing  in  a 20K  program.  This  technique  will  not 
recover  all  tape  errors.  For  the  approach  to  even  work,  it 
is  necessary  that  the  computer  be  able  to  read  the  first 
line  of  the  file.  This  means  the  computer  must  be  able  to 
read  the  start  byte  and  sync  byte  from  the  Tarbeli  tape, 
plus  at  least  one  line  of  BASIC. 

1 have  discussed  this  problem  with  Don  Tarbeli  and  he 
tells  me  that  errors  can  occur  from  generating  addi- 
tional clock  pulses  or  from  missing  a clock  pulse.  An  er- 
ror can  also  invert  the  remainder  of  the  code,  in  my  own 
experience,  every  error  1 have  noticed  in  a Tarbeli  tape 
(and  lTve  seen  a few!)  have  been  characterized  by  a shif- 
ting of  the  code  to  the  left  by  one  or  more  bits.  This  is 
the  type  of  error  we  will  attempt  to  correct  with  the  pro- 
gram shown  in  this  article. 

A good  way  to  demonstrate  this  type  of  error,  if  you 
happen  to  have  a computer  with  output  LEDs  on  the 
front  panel,  is  to  put  the  input  bytes  from  the  tape  to  the 
LEDs  during  a read.  When  you're  reading  an  ASCII  file 
(without  parity,  D7-0),  D7  should  be  off  (on  for  an  IMSAi 
since  its  LEDs  are  inverted).  If  an  error  of  the  type  1 have 
described  occurs,  the  off  LED  (D7)  will  shift  to  DO  or 
possibly  D1.  As  additional  errors  occur,  the  off  LED  will 
shift  across  the  display  from  right  to  left. 

Since  I know  many  of  you  are  essentially  BASIC  pro- 
grammers, i will  explain  a few  words  that  will  have  to  be 
used  because  this  article  will  deal  with  problems  at  the 
memory  image  or  object  code  level.  First,  a bit  is  the 
smallest  piece  of  information  we  will  consider.  It  Is 
equivalent  to  the  output  at  any  instant  on  a single  line  of 
a parallel  port  or  one  of  the  data  LEDs.  A serial  port 
handles  data  one  bit  at  a time,  A byte  consists  of  8 bits. 
* Floppy  ROM  is  a registered  trademark  of  INTERFACE  AGE 
Magazine,  Cerritos,  California, 


These  are  ordered  from  most  significant  (MSB)  to  least 
significant  (LSB).  This  is  like  from  D7  to  DO  in  your  data 
LEDs.  The  Tarbeli  interface,  Which  is  a serial  interface, 
puts  data  on  thdtape  MSB  first.  A word  is  2 bytes  or  16 
bits.  It  is  generally  used  to  describe  a memory  location 
(1  out  of  65536  possibilities)  or  represent  a decimal  in- 
teger from  0 to  65535  (or  possibly  from  -32768  to 
+ 32767).  For  this  discussion,  words  are  always  stored 
in  memory  in  the  Intel  format,  which  is  low  byte  first,  in 
other  words  (no  pun  intended),  if  location  MEM  and 
MEM±1  contain  a 2-byte  word,  the  tow  (least  signifi- 
cant) byte  is  in  MEM  and  the  most  significant  byte  is  in 
MEM  + 1.  In  BASIC,  the  value  at  MEM  and  MEM  + 1 
would  equal  PEEK(MEM)  + 25G*(PEEK(MEM  + 1)),  Two- 
bit  words  are  something  else  again.  Hopefully,  the  edi- 
tors at  INTERFACE  AGE  will  have  DELETEd  ail  of  them 
before  you  read  this  article. 


LOADING  CASSETTE  FILES 
TO  MICROSOFT  BASIC 

If  you  were  slightly  disappointed  when  you 
typed  GLOADMA"  to  your  brand  new  $350  Micro- 
soft BASIC  and  got  SYNTAX  ERROR,  I don't  blame 
you  If  you  have  the  CP/M  version,  this  procedure 
will  let  you  convert  MITS  files  to  Microsoft  OP/M 
BASIC  files. 

1.  Load  the  cassette  file  as  a memory  image  at 
0100  HEX  (the  start  of  your  TPA). 

2.  Boot  up  CP/M  and  save  the  program  as  a .COM 
file,  i.e.  SAVE  XX  filename  .COM  where  XX  is 
the  number  of  256-byte  pages  in  the  file. 

3.  Load  DDT  and  the  file  with  DDT  filename  ,COM. 

4.  Change  the  byte  at  0100  HEX  to  FF  using  the 
S command  in  DDT. 

5.  Control  C to  reboot  CP/M  and  this  time  save 
the  file  off  as  a .8AS  file  with  SAVE  XX  file- 
name .BAS. 

It's  now  a BASIC  file  and  can  be  LOADed  or  RUN 
from  disk  just  as  if  it  were  written  by  Microsoft 
BASIC.  Of  course,  any  differences  in  the  instruc- 
tion set  will  have  to  be  corrected. 


One  last  point:  I will  talk  In  HEX.  I know  that  BASIC 
likes  decimal,  but  memory  dumps  in  decimal  won't  get 
the  point  across.  Octal  will  not  be  considered  (author's 
prerogative).  HEX,  or  hexadecimal,  numbers  are  a way  of 
expressing  8-bit  numbers  using  the  decimal  numbers 
0-10  and  the  letters  A-F.  If  you  are  not  familiar  with  hexa- 
decimal numbers,  please  refer  to  one  of  the  many 
discussions  in  the  literature. 

With  all  that  behind  us,  let's  try  to  fix  up  that  crashed 
tape.  It  is  my  experience  that  the  most  common  error  in 
reading  a Tarbeli  tape  is  exhibited  as  a shifting  to  the 
left  by  one  or  more  bits  of  the  code.  This  happens  when 
the  system  misses  a clock  pulse*  In  other  words,  it  just 
skips  a bit.  Since  it  takes  8 bits  to  make  a byte,  it  will 
take  the  7 correct  bits  (with  the  skipped  one  left  out), 
plus  one  from  the  next  byte.  This  obviously  leaves  the 
next  byte  1 bit  short  and  the  system  out  of  sync.  If  we 
knew  the  exact  spot  of  the  missed  clock,  we  could  in- 
sert a bit,  thereby  shifting  the  remainder  of  the  code  one 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  145 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


bit  to  the  right.  But  finding  that  spot  would  mean  com- 
paring the  crashed  file  against  a correct  file  bit  by  bit! 

As  an  example,  if  we  had  a 40  HEX,  which  is  binary 
0010  0000,  it  would  be  shifted  to  become  an  80  HEX,  or 
1000  000X  where  the  X is  unknown  unless  we  know  what 
the  MSB  of  the  next  byte  is.  If  the  next  byte  had  a 1 in 
the  D7  position,  the  byte  under  discussion  would  be 
1000  0001.  Not  40  HEX,  but  81  HEX.  I'll  bet  you  always 
wondered  how  that  code  could  change  so  much!  This 
type  of  error  is  generally  such  that  not  only  one  charac- 
ter will  be  wrong  on  the  tape,  but  from  that  point  on,  all 
characters  are  wrong.  It  has  been  my  experience  that  if 
we  get  a left  shift  in  the  tape,  there  will  seldom  be  a right 
shift  to  compensate  for  it. 

These  problems  are  specially  aggravated  by  the  form 
of  coding  used  in  the  M ITS/ Microsoft  BASIC.  You  will 
notice  that  I include  Microsoft.  They  not  only  wrote 
MIT’s  BASIC,  but  also  are  distributing  a version  on  CP/M 
disks  which  seems  to  be  compatible  with  the  MITS  ver- 
sions. For  you  users  who  have  Microsoft  BASIC  without 
cassette  load  capabilities,  there  is  a boxed  section  in- 
cluded in  this  article  which  describes  how  to  fool 
Microsoft  BASIC  into  reading  a MITS/Tarbell  file.  For 
this  article,  I will  use  M/M  BASIC  to  mean  M ITS/M icro- 
soft  BASIC. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  look  into  the  actual  object  code 
which  is  recorded  on  the  cassette  so  we  can  determine 
how  to  recover  cassette  tape  errors.  Figure  1 is  a straight 
object  dump  of  the  first  program  from  the  General 
Ledger  Floppy  ROM,  COPCON.  This  was  recorded  with  a 
CSAVE  "A”.  I have  played  this  back  into  memory  start- 
ing at  address  A000  (this  means  it  was  not  loaded  by 
BASIC  but  by  a standard  bootstrap  object  loader).  Note 
the  first  byte  is  a 41.  This  is  an  ASCII  “A”.  That  is  the 
name  that  the  file  was  called  when  it  was  recorded.  The 
next  word,  consisting  of  the  bytes  at  A001,  A002  is 
amemory  pointer  4DA5  HEX  (remember  that  Intel  for- 
mat). This  is  a pointer  to  the  start  of  the  next  line  in  the 
system  in  whic  it  was  used,  i.e.  MITS  Disk  BASIC  4.0. 
The  next  word  at  location  A3  and  A4  is  a 000 A HEX.  This 
is  a decimal  10  and  is  the  first  line  number. 

Now  starts  the  actual  code.  The  3A,  8F  and  DB  are  the 
MITS  tokens  fora  remark.  Then  the  20  is  an  ASCII  space 
and  is  followed  by  the  title  of  the  program  in  ASCII.  You 
may  refer  to  the  listing  in  INTERFACE  AGE,  or  if  you 
have  this  file  running,  to  the  listing  on  your  own  com- 
puter. I would  like  to  note  that  the  programs  source 
shown  in  the  November  1977  INTERFACE  AGE  has  been 
sanitized  by  removing  Mr.  Sham  burger's  address  (gener- 
ally  on  lines  30,  40,  50  and  60).  Don’t  let  this  confuse 
you,  since  the  source  text  is  not  the  same  in  this  respect 
as  the  program  on  the  Floppy  ROM. 

In  the  example  of  Figure  1,  the  first  line  ends  at  ad- 
dress HEX  A01E.  The  00  in  the  code  signals  an  end  of 
line.  If  this  was  loaded  into  the  same  version  of  BASIC  in 
which  it  was  written,  this  address  would  be  4DA5,  which 
was  the  pointer  at  the  second  and  third  bytes  of  the  file. 
The  next  word  following  the  end  of  fine  is  a 4DE0.  This 
will  be  the  pointer  to  the  end  of  the  second  line.  Follow- 
ing that,  we  can  see  the  HEX  word  0014  which  is  decimal 
20.  You  got  it,  line  number  20.  The  program  file  is  made 
up  in  this  manner  until  the  end-of-fiie  mark  which  wilt  be 
an  end-of-line  pointer  of  0,  i.e.,  three  consecutive  zeros. 
This  tells  BASIC  that  it  has  reached  the  end  of  its  file. 
One  may  question  why  the  extra  overhead  of  the  end-of- 
line  pointer  in  the  file.  I can  only  assume  this  is  done  to 
enable  fast  searches  for  a given  line  in  the  file. 

If  this  program  were  brought  up  on  a different  version 
of  M/M  BASIC,  everything  would  remain  identical  except 
the  location  pointers.  As  an  example,  Figure  2 is  the 


same  program  COPCON  read  in  by  a version  of  M/M  4.0 
Extended  BASIC.  Note  the  only  changes  are  in  the  end- 
of-iine  location  pointers.  4DA5  in  Figure  1 went  to  3838 
in  Figure  2.  4DE0  (at  A01E)  in  Figure  1 changed  to  3873 
in  Figure  2.  This  figures,  since  Disk  BASIC  takes  more 
memory  than  extended. 

This  should  explain  how  the  code  looks  in  a properly 
formatted  file.  Now  take  a look  at  the  code  in  Figure  3. 
This  is  a portion  of  the  program  GL4  which  has  been 
loaded  to  start  at  A000  in  memory.  I am  using  this  as  an 
example  since  on  my  Floppy  ROM  there  were  four  errors 
that  I was  unable  to  recover  by  changing  the  tone  and  vol- 
ume control  settings.  The  first  one  occurred  after  line  70. 
Note  in  the  code  at  A0D5,  there  is  an  end-of-line  mark  fol- 
lowed by  a location  word  of  4E64  and  a line  number 003C 
HEX.  This  is  line  60.  Line  60  is  just  a remark  (3A,  8F  DB) 
and  is  followed  by  the  end-of-line  mark  (00),  a location 
pointer  (4EA3)  and  the  next  line  number  (70  = 0046  HEX). 

The  location  pointer  at  AODE  and  A0DF  (4EA3)  points 
to  the  location  AllCin  the  buffer.  But  at  A11C  there  is  a 
03,  not  a 00.  This  tells  us  that  something  went  wrong 
after  the  start  of  line  70  and  the  end  at  A1 1C.  What  pro- 
bably happened  is  that  two  bits  got  shifted  off  the  next 
word  and  onto  the  00.  Notice  the  next  word  is  a 39A1. 
This  would  tell  BASIC  to  jump  backwards  to  look  for  the 
line  because  line  60  pointed  to  4EA3.  Even  M/M  BASIC 
may  have  a problem  with  this.  Also,  between  the  last 
goo  dpointer  at  buffer  location  AODE  and  this  pointer 
the  code  looks  strange.  You  can  note  that  there  are 
some  funny  looking  characters  especially  on  the  line  at 
A110.  There  is  a 14,15  and  an  05  HEX.  In  general,  ail 
tokens  and  ASCII  characters  in  BASIC  are  greater  than 
20  HEX.  When  BASIC  sees  these  funny  bytes  there  is  no 
telling  what  will  happen,  it  usually  just  hangs.  Worse 
yet,  it  could  rewrite  your  disk  directory.  GIGO  again. 

The  approach  that  will  be  taken  to  correct  a crashed 
file  is  to  correct  from  the  known  error  (line  80)  and  to 
write  fill  characters  in  for  the  suspect  line  (line  70)  since 
it  is  very  difficult  to  tell  where  the  error  occurred.  Figure 
4 shows  this  same  piece  of  code  after  correction  by  the 
recovery  program.  Notice  from  A0E2  to  A11B  the  pro- 
gram has  filled  in  (ASCII  21  HEX).  It  will  be  necessary 
to  retype  in  line  70  to  run  the  program.  But  also  notice 
that  now  the  end-of-line  mark  at  A1 1C  is  00  and  the  loca- 
tion pointer  and  line  number  have  been  corrected  (4EE8 
and  0050).  


A 000  41 

A5 

4D 

DA 

00 

3A 

8F  DB 

20 

50 

52 

4F 

47 

52 

41 

4D 

A010  20  AE 

41 

4D 

45 

20 

22  43 

4F 

50 

43 

4F 

4E 

22 

00 

ED 

A 020  AO 

14 

00 

3A 

8F 

DB 

20  50 

52 

4F 

47 

52 

41 

40 

4D 

45 

A 030  44 

20 

42 

59 

3A 

20 

20  20 

20 

20 

42 

55 

44 

20 

53 

48 

A 040  41 

4D 

42 

55 

52 

47 

45  52 

20  20  20  20  44 

45 

43 

45 

A050  40 

42 

45 

52 

20 

31 

39  37 

36 

00 

DA 

4E 

IE 

00 

3A 

8F 

A060  DB 

20 

20 

20 

20  20 

20  20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

Figure  1. 

AO 00  41 

38 

38 

OA 

00 

3A 

8F  DB 

20 

50 

52 

4F 

47 

52 

41 

40 

A010  20 

4E 

41 

40 

45 

20 

22  43 

4F 

50 

43 

4F 

4E 

22 

00 

73 

A 020  38 

14 

00 

3A 

8F 

DB 

20  50 

52 

4F 

47 

52 

41 

4D 

40 

45 

A03Q  44 

20 

42 

59 

3A 

20 

20  20  20 

20  42 

55 

44 

20 

53 

48 

A 040  41 

4D 

42 

55 

52 

47 

45  52 

20 

20 

20 

20 

44 

45 

43 

45 

A050  40 

42 

45 

52 

20 

31 

39  37 

36 

00 

90 

38 

IE 

00 

3A 

8F 

A06D  DB 

20 

20 

20  20  20 

20  20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

2n 

20 

Figure  2. 

146  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


A0DG 

2D 

33 

36 

34 

31 

00 

64 

4E 

3C 

DO 

3A 

er 

DB 

00 

A3 

4E 

A0E0 

46 

00 

3A 

8F 

DB 

20 

54 

48 

49 

53 

20 

50 

52 

MF 

47 

52  : 

AOFG 

41 

4D 

20 

54 

41 

46 

45 

53 

20 

54 

48 

45 

20 

44 

41 

5M 

A100 

41 

20 

45 

4E 

54 

45 

52 

45 

44 

20 

46 

52 

MF 

40 

20 

68 

A 11 0 

El 

14 

81 

51 

IS 

49 

35 

25 

39 

05 

30 

B0 

03 

A1 

39 

40 

A120 

00 

EA 

3F 

6C 

80 

A1 

00 

21 

15 

00 

2C 

81 

39 

55 

35 

09 

A1  J0 

15 

48 

81 

05 

39 

10 

81 

35 

30 

39 

15 

64 

81 

05 

35 

3D 

Figure 

3. 

AG0Q 

2D 

33 

36 

34 

31 

00 

64 

ME 

3C 

00 

3A 

8F 

DB 

00 

A3 

4E 

aoeo 

46 

00 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

AOFG 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

A100 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

A1I0 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

0D 

EB 

ME 

50 

A120 

DO 

3A 

er 

DB 

20 

28 

43 

48 

45 

43 

46 

20 

4E 

55 

4D 

42 

A130 

45 

52 

20 

41 

ME 

44 

2D 

4D 

4 F 

4E 

45 

59 

20 

41 

4D 

UF 

Figure  4. 

A question  might  be,  what  actually  happened  in  the 
code  to  give  us  an  03  at  All C.  Look  at  the  fol towing  ex- 
ample, which  shows  the  bytes  of  All B through  A120  as 
they  were  shown  in  Figure  3.  And  right  below  it,  what 
happens  if  we  shift  these  to  the  right  by  2 bits.  Note,  we 
got  our  correct  code  back.  This  is  the  approach  that  will 
be  used  by  the  program. 

EXAMPLE: 

BO  03  A1  39  04  00 

1011  0000  0000  0011  1010  0001  0011  1001  0100  0000  0000  0000 

??10  1100  0000  0000  1110  1000  0100  1110  0101  0000  0000  0000 

?C  00  E8  4E  50  00 

The  recovery  program  must  take  the  information  that 
we  know  and  determine  where  to  start  shifting  the  code 
and  how  much  to  shift  it.  There  are  two  things  that  are 
known.  Number  1,  if  we  have  a location  pointer,  when  we 
look  at  that  location  in  memory;  it  shouid  equal  0. 
Remember  the  pointer  is  referenced  to  the  version  of 
BASIC  that  recorded  the  file.  It  must  therefore  be  cor- 
rected or  indexed  to  the  present  position  in  the  buffer.  If 
we  have  one  complete  fine,  this  i ndex  can  be  calculated. 

The  second  thing  we  know  is  the  number  of  bytes  be- 
tween one  end-of  line  mark  and  the  next  must  be  less 
than  256,  because  that  is  the  maximum  line  length  for 
M/M  BASIC,  This  can  tell  us  if  there  has  been  a shift 
even  though  the  end-oHine  mark  is  still  00,  since  even  a 
shift  of  one  bit  will  change  the  pointer  by  more  than  255. 
A shift  left  is  like  multiplying  by  2 in  binary  and,  since 
the  files  are  always  above  the  first  page  of  memory,  this 
will  add  more  than  255  to  the  pointer. 

If  we  detect  an  error  by  either  of  these  tests,  we  can 
then  shift  right  the  appropriate  amount  to  correct  the  er- 
ror. Since  we  don't  know  where  in  the  line  the  error  oc- 
curred, the  program  will  then  fill  that  line  with  any 
legitimate  ASCII  fill  character.  Also,  if  the  end-of-line 
mark  was  0,  but  the  location  word  was  off,  we  better  fill 
the  previous  line  with  fill  characters  too,  as  the  shift 
may  have  occurred  in  the  previous  line. 

The  requirements  to  run  this  program  are  as  follows: 
You  must  have  a MITS  or  Microsoft  BASIC,  Extended  or 
Disk,  revision  4.0  or  later.  There  also  must  be  enough 
memory  to  run  BASIC,  the  recovery  program  and  still  be 
able  to  load  the  file  into  a buffer  outside  of  the  range  of 
BASIC.  To  recover  GL2t  which  is  20.5K  long,  you  may 
need  to  run  the  recovery  program  in  Extended  BASIC  to 


fit  in  your  memory.  The  file  to  be  recovered  must  be 
loaded  to  the  buffer  as  a straight  image  or  object  load. 
For  this,  an  object  loader  and  a method  of  recording  the 
file  back  off  are  required.  The  programs  shown  in  the 
Tarbell  cassette  interface  manual  will  work  fine.  If  you 
have  a monitor  program  which  records  Tarbell  tapes, 
this  will  also  work  if  it  is  in  a straight  (bootstrap  load) 
format.  That  is,  it  must  not  add  any  header  bytes  to  the 
file.  A monitor  is  also  helpful  (especially  one  that  dumps 
in  ASCII),  if  you  would  like  to  look  around  in  the  code 
and  see  what  is  going  on. 


numbers  shown  referenced  to  the  BASIC  program.  Figure 
6 is  the  flow  chart  and  a variable  list.  Operation  of  the 
program  is  as  follows:  The  main  module  RECOVERY  ini- 
tially inputs  the  location  of  the  buffer  containing  the  code 
to  be  recovered.  The  buffer  is  defined  by  the  start  and 
ending  address  in  decimal.  These  are  stored  as  NBUFF 
and  EOB.  Grossly  improper  entries  are  not  accepted.  The 
first  thing  the  program  does  is  determine  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  find  at  least  one  valid  line.  If  not;  the  program 
must  abort  with  an  appropriate  message.  If  it  can  find  a 
valid  line,  then  it  calls  to  module  TESTCODE  at  line 
10000.  TESTCODE  will  return  with  flags  set,  depending 
on  whether  the  end  of  file  was  reached  or  an  error  was 
detected.  TESTCODE  also  prints  out  valid  line  numbers 
to  the  terminal.  If  flags  show  that  the  test  was  complete, 
a message  is  printed  and  the  program  stops.  If  not,  RE- 
COVERY decides  whether  it  was  a pointer  error  or  an 
end-of-llne  mark  error.  If  it  was  a pointer  error  FIXLOC- 
WORD  Is  called.  If  just  an  end  of  line  error,  then  SHIFT- 
CODE  is  called.  FIXLOCWORD,  after  fixing  the  pointer, 
will  jump  to  SHIFTCODE.  After  returning  from  SHIFT- 
CODE,  the  error  LFLAG  is  tested  to  determine  if  recovery 
was  possible,  if  not,  a fatal  error  message  is  displayed 
and  the  program  stopped. 

If  it  was  possible,  the  program  loops  back  to  line  2000 
and  retests  to  see  if  the  complete  program  was  cor- 
rected This  will  continue  until  an  unrecoverable  error  is 
detected  or  the  program  is  corrected.  The  final  listing  to 
the  display  shouid  show  all  tine  numbers  as  valid 
through  the  last  line  number  of  the  program.  Note  that 
when  FIXLOCWORD  is  correcting  the  pointer,  the  next 
line  number  may  be  an  invalid  line  number.  The  line  will 
be  filled  with  the  fill  character  anyway,  so  the  line  must 
be  re-typed.  When  the  corrected  program  is  brought  up 
by  BASIC  and  listed,  the  first  thing  to  do  Is  delete  any  er- 
roneous line  numbers. 

The  submodules  FIXLOCWORD  and  SHIFTCODE 
operate  as  follows:  FIXLOCWORD  at  16000  first  fills  in 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  147 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


INPUT 

buffer  log 


FIND  FIRST 
EOL 


ABORT 

MESSAGE 


7 


CALL 

TESTCODE 


C 


VARIABLES 


CHAR 

ASCII  FILL  CHAR 

K1.  K2 

MSB 

NBUFF 

buffer  start 

FLAGS: 

M.J.LKX 

TEMPORARY 

KFLAG 

END 

EQB 

END  OF  BUFFER 

LFLAG 

FATAL 

NPTR 

POINTER  IN  BUFF 

NFL  AG 

TYPE 

VEC 

TEMPORARY 

KN 

* OF  SHIFTS 

NXT 

NEXT  LINEMARK 

LN 

LINE  D 

LAST 

LAST  LINEMARK 

INDEX 

OFFSET  FROM  CODE 

Figure  6.  Flow  Chart  “Recovery” 


US  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


the  last  line  with  fill  characters.  This  is  necessary  since 
it  is  not  known  where  in  the  line  the  clock  error  occurred. 
It  then  looks  in  the  next  256  bits  for  the  first  byte  less 
than  8.  This  will  look  for  a 00  end-of-line  which  has  been 
shifted  less  than  four  times.  If  it  can't  find  one,  it  sets 
the  fatal  error  flag  and  then  returns.  If  it  can,  it  assumes 
that  this  is  the  new  end  of  tine  and  POKES  to  the  code 
its  address  as  the  new  pointer.  The  module  then  jumps 
toSHIFTCODE. 

In  SHIFTCODE,  the  program  first  fetches  the  end  of  line. 
If  the  end  of  line  is  greater  than  31,  which  it  may  be  if 
SHIFTCODE  is  entered  directly  from  RECOVERY,  it  sets  a 
fatal  error  flag  and  returns,  if  the  end  of  line  is  31  or  less, 
the  program  determines  the  number  of  shifts  required  to 
bring  the  end-of-line  byte  to  0.  This  is  variable  KN.  A loop 
is  then  set  up  for  1 to  KN  times  to  shift  the  code  by  one 
bit  on  each  pass  through  the  loop.  Actual  shifting  is 
done  by  a call  to  SHIFTRIGHT.  In  SHIFTRIGHT,  each  bit 
from  the  pointer  NPTR  until  an  end  of  file  or  EOB  is 
shifted  right  by  one  bit.  The  bit  which  is  shifted  off  the 
right  hand  side  of  the  byte  is  added  to  the  highest  order 
bit  of  the  next  byte.  Also,  every  100  bytes  the  number  of 
bytes  shifted  is  printed  out  just  so  the  operator  doesn't 
think  the  computer  went  to  sleep.  This  does  take  a 
while.  BASIC  can  only  PEEK  and  POKE  so  fast. 

After  each  pass  through  the  loop,  a test  is  made  for 
fatal  errors,  where  a fatal  error  is  indicated  by  the  end-of- 
line  byte  being  greater  than  31.  In  other  words,  if  our 
shifting  has  made  things  worse,  we  are  not  going  to 
solve  the  problem.  After  KN  passes  through  the  loop, 
SHIFTCOOE  returns  to  RECOVERY  with  a flag  set,  de- 
pending on  whether  the  end  of  line  was  corrected  or  not. 
This  description,  along  with  the  comments  in  the  code, 
should  allow  implementation  on  the  user's  system. 


PROGRAM  LISTING 

10 

PRINT 

"RECOVERY": PRINT 

"A  PROGRAM  TO  RECOVER  CRASHED  TARBELL  TAPES": 

PRINT 

"BY: 

0RV  BALC0M  & BUSTER  BROWN": 

PRINT 

ft 

COPYRIGHT  (c)  1978  BRCWN  00G  ENGINEERING": 
PRINT : PRINT 

20  ' 

Permission  is  granted  to  cooy  this  Drogram 
for  personal  use  only  as  long  as  the 
authors  names  and  copyright  notice 
are  included. 

30  ' 

This  program  will  attemot  to  reconstruct  a j 

MITS/Microsoft  program  file  recorded  in  the 
Tarbell  Cassette  format.  Loss  of  clock  bit  j 

errors  will  be  recovered.  At  least  one  valid 
line  must  be  initially  available. 

40  ' 

The  file  must  be  in  a buffer  outside  of  the  range 
of  BASIC  as  a memory  image  (non  ASCI  11  file.  The 
file  will  be  corrected  in-olace  and  must  be  recorded 
off  after  completion. 

90  ' 

MAIN  PROGRAM: 
MODULE -RECOVERY 

If  this  program  is  to  be  used  repeatedly,  I would  sug- 
gest the  subroutine  SHIFTRIGHT  be  written  as  a user 
called  routine  (USR)  in  assembly  code.  The  main  lag  is  in 
this  module  since  BASIC  is  not  efficient  at  peeking,  pok- 
ing and  shifting. 

The  program  is  used  as  follows:  First  initialize  BASIC 
to  leave  a buffer  above  memory  large  enough  to  hold  the 
file  that  needs  to  be  corrected.  Second,  load  the  file  as  a 
memory  image  into  the  buffer.  Third,  return  to  BASIC 
and  load  and  run  "RECOVERY."  If  “RECOVERY"  gives 
an  answer  showing  the  file  was  recovered,  jump  out  of 
BASIC  and  record  the  buffer  back  off  as  a memory  im- 
age (object)  file.  Now  load  this  memory  image  tape  with 
BASIC  using  the  CLOAD  command  with  the  appropriate 
file  letter.  BASIC  should  respond  with  an  OK  after  the 
load.  If  not,  the  file  was  not  recovered;  drop  back  10 
yards  and  punt. 

If  recovery  was  accomplished,  list  the  program  noting 
all  erroneous  (out  of  order)  line  numbers.  Delete  these 
first.  Then  list  it  again  and  correct  all  lines  which  were 
written  over  with  the  fill  character.  Remember,  for  all 
out-of-order  lines  that  were  deleted,  the  correct  line  will 
have  to  be  replaced.  Now  save  the  file  on  cassette  or  disk. 

Along  with  the  program  listing  is  a sample  run  recov- 
ering my  file,  “GL4."  This  file  had  a 2 byte  shift  at  line 
70,  another  shift  at  line  810  and  a pointer  error  at  line 
1040.  The  program  corrected  all  these  errors  (as  can  be 
seen  by  the  partial  listing)  and  filled  the  lines  in  with  the 
fill  character.  Note  that  the  LIST  command  will  not  work 
properly  with  the  out-of-order  line  number  (2108),  which 
was  generated  while  repairing  the  pointer  at  line  1050. 
DELETE  2108  will  solve  the  problem.  The  filled  in  lines 
must  now  be  retyped  with  the  proper  source  code  to 
create  the  corfect  file.L1 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  149 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


100  CHAR=ASC ( " l " ) ' Fill  char,  can  be  any  ASCII 

110  ' Get  location  of  buffer  containing  file. 

Filter  out  garbage, 

120  INPUT  "INPUT  START  OF  BUFFER  (IN  DECIMAL V'jNBUFF 

130  IF  NBUFF>65535! 

GOTO  120 

140  INPUT  "INPUT  LENGTH  OF  PROGRAM  TIN  DECIMAL''"  ;M 

150  IF  M+NBUFF  > 65535! 

THEN  PRINT  "BUFFER  WILL  EXCEED  MEMORY", 

GOTO  120 

160  1 Set  buffer  start  & end 

NPTR  is  the  main  memory  pointer  in  the  buffer 

170  EOB=M+NBUFF, 

NPTR=NBUFF 

1000  VEC  = INT(PEEKCNBUFF+1 ) + 256*( PEEKf  NBUFF+2 1 1 V 

Supposed  first  end  of  line  mark  ('EOL'1 

1010  NXT  =VEC ; 

FOR  I =NBUFF+5  TO  NBUFF+256, 

IF  PEEK( I )=0 
THEN  NXT=I * 

I =NBUFF+256 1 

See  if  an  EOL  can  be  found  in  the  next  256  bytes. 
If  so,  set  NXT=  its  address. 

1020  NEXT 


1030  IF  VEC=NXT 

THEN  PRINT  "CAN'T  FIND  1ST  LINE  MARKER", 

PRINT  "MUST  ABORT", 

STOP' 

An  EOL  (00)  wasn't  found 
1040  I NDEX=NXT -VEC ' 

INDEX  is  the  offset  from  the  locations  in  the 
code  and  their  actual  locations  in  the  buffer 

1990  ' Clear  flags  and  call  TESTCODE. 

KLEAG  is  the  recovery  complete  flag. 

NFLAG  is  the  error  type  flag  with  0C=E0L  error 
and  -l=pointer  error  upon  return  from  TESTCODE 

2000  KFLAG=0,NFLAG=0: 

GOSUB  10000: 

IF  KFLAG=-1 

THEN  PRINT  :PRINT  "RECOVERY  COMPLETE". 

PRINT"RECORD  FILE  BACK  FROM  BUFFER". 

PRINT  "END  OF  FILE=";NPTR; 

PRINT  "FILE  LENGTH=" ; NPTR-NBUFF- 
STOP 


2010  ' 
2020  1 


That  is  the  end  of  the  program  for  a complete 
recovery  of  the  file.  It  is  indicated  by  KFLA6 


150  INTERFACE  AGE 


Clear  LFLAG,  the  fatal  error  flag  and  call  on  NFLAG 
either  FIXLOCWORP  (16000)  or  SHIFTCODE  (150001 


APRIL  1978 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


2030 

LFLAG=0: 

IF  NFLAG=0 
THEN  GOSUB  15000 
ELSE  GOSUB  16000 

2040 

NPTR=NBUFFS 
GOTO  2000' 

Reset  pointer  to  start  of  buffer  & try  again 

9970  ' 

9980  • 

MODULE:  TESTCODE 

This  module  tests  the  code  by  jumping  through  it 
a line  at  a time.  It  uses  the  location  pointer  to  find 
the  next  E0L  mark.  If  the  word  indicates  a jump  of 
more  than  255  bytes  or  if  the  E0L  mark  0,  an 
error  has  occured. 

9990  ' 

NFLAG  is  set  to  indicate  the  error  type  and  the 
program  returns.  If  a pointer  of  0 is  found  fEOFI 
KFLAG  is  set  & the  program  returns.  The  # of 
valid  lines  are  printed  on  the  terminal. 

10000 

PRINT  S PRINT  "VALID  LINES": 

FOR  1=1  TO  10000: 

IF  PEEK(NPTR)+PEEK(NPTR+1 )+PEEKrNPTR+2 >=0 
THEN  KFLAG=-1; 

RETURN 

10010 

NXT=PEEK(NPTR+1  )+256*PEEKf  NPTR+2  >+I  NDEX  j 

IF  NXT  > 255+NPTR 
THEN  NFLAG=-1 : 

RETURN' 

Looking  for  a line  > 255  chars 
is  a no-no.  The  pointer  is  no  good 
so  set  NFLAG  to  show  it. 

10020 

IF  PEEKCNXT1  > 0 
THEN  RETURN' 

E0L  error  in  the  f i le 

10030 

LN=PEEKf NPTR+31+256*PEEKf NPTR+41 ♦ 

PRINT  LN,' 

Get  & print  this  lines  //  since 
it  seems  OK. 

10040 

LAST=NPTR: 

NPTR=NXT : 

NEXT; 

STOP' 

Update  pointers.  If  we  really  did 
10000  lines,  better  stop. 

14980 

i 

14990 

* MODULE-  SHIFTC0DE 

This  module  shifts  the  code  to  the  right 
until  the  end  of  line  mark  is  00  or 

APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  151 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


15000 

15010 

15020 

15030 

15040 

15050 

15060 

15070 

1 5980 
15990 

16000 

16010 


>31  (a  fatal  error-can' t recover'! 

LFLAG=0: 

NXT  =PEEK(NPTR+1  )+256*PEEK(NPTR+2)+I NDEX. 
KX=PEEK(NXT): 

IF  KX  > 31 
THEN  LFLAG— Is 
RETURN* 

Set  KX  = EOL  mark  « NXT 

If  It's  >31,  the  files  already  gone, 

KN=I  NT(L0G(KX)/L0G(2))+1  t 
NPTR=NPTR+5 ' 

Calculate  how  many  shifts  to  get  KX  to  0. 
Move  NPTR  past  the  line  if 

PRINT  : PRINT  "ATTEMPTING  RECOVERY;". 

PRINT  "SHIFTING  ";KN; "RIGHT": 

PRINT  "if  OF  BYTES  SHIFTED;" 

FOR  1=1  TO  KN; 

GOSUB  1 7000 

IF  PEEK(NXT )=0 
THEN  I =KN: 

GOTO  15060* 

Call  SHIFTRIGHT  up  to  KN  times  or 
until  NXT  =0 

IF  PEEK(NXT)>31 
THEN  LFLAG=-1: 

I=KN* 

Give  up  if  we're  making  it  worse 


NEXT; 


IF  PEEK(NXT)=0 
THEN 

FOR  I=NPTR  TO  NXT-1  : 

POKE  I, CHAR; 

NEXT. 

RETURN 
ELSE  LFLAG=-1; 

RETURN 

* If  we  fixed  this  line,  fill  it  In  & return. 
If  not, set  LFLAG  (fatal  error)  & return 


' MODULE:  FIXLOCWORD 

This  module  first  fills  in  the  last  line 

since  it  may- be  bad.  It  then  tries  to  find 

an  end  of  line  pointer  within  the  next 

255  bytes  that  hasn't  been  shifted  more 

than  3 times.  If  so,  it  makes  it  the  new  pointer. 

FOR  J=LAST+5  TO  NPTR-1 : 

POKE  J C HAR ; 

NEXT' 

Fill  in  last  line 
FOR  1=1  TO  255: 

IF  PEEKCNPTR+I)  < 8 


152  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 

SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 

16020 

THEN  NXT=NPTR+I- INDEX. 
1=256' 

Look  for  a byte  <8 

NEXT. 

If  1=255 
THEN  GOTO  16030 

ELSE  ! 

J=INT((NXT/256)+.l ): 

POKE  NPTR+1 ,NXT-256*J;  i 

POKE  NPTR+2 , J'  : 

If  a possible  EOL  is  found,  put  its 
location  in  the  code  , 

| 16030 

NFLAG=0: 

GOTO  15000'  ; 

OK,  now  try  to  correct  the  file 

16980  ' 
16990  ' 

MODULE;  SHIFTRIGHT 

This  module  shifts  the  code  from  NPTR  until  ! 

3 consecutive  zeros  are  found,  1 bit  to  the  right. 

17000 

K1  =0: 

FOR  J=NPTR  TO  EOB: 
K=PEEK( J) : 
K2=K1 

17010 

I F K=0 
THEN 

IF  PEEK(J+1)±PEEK( J+2)=0 
THEN  J=E0B : 

GOTO  17040 

17020 

IF  (J-NPTR)  MOD  100  =0 

THEN  PRINT  J-NPTR,  1 

17030 

K1=K  MOD  2:  ' 

K=INT (K/2) : 

K=K+128*K2S 
POKE  J, K' 

K1  is  the  MSB  to  be  saved 

for  the  next  byte.  It  is  stored  in 

temporary  register  K2  ■ 

17040 

| SAMPLE 

NEXT : 

RETURN 

RUN  FILESGL4  1 

1 RUN  "RECOVERY" 

RECOVERY  1 

A PROGRAM  TO  RECOVER  CRASHED  TARBELL  TAPES 

BY: 

ORV  BALCOM  & BUSTER  BROWN  j 

COPYRIGHT  (c)  1978  BRCWN  DOG  ENGINEERING 

INPUT 

INPUT 

START  OF  BUFFER  (IN  DECIMAL) 7 40960 
LENGTH  OF  PROGRAM  (IN  DECIMAL)?  3300 

VALID 
1 0 
60 

LINES 

20  30  40  50 

APRIL  1978 

INTERFACE  AGE  153 

SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


ATTEMPTING 

RECOVERY: 

SHIFTING  2 

RIGHT 

# OF  BYTES 

SHI  FT  ED: 

0 

100 

200 

300 

400 

500 

600 

700 

800 

900 

1000 

1100 

1200 

1300 

1400 

1500 

1600 

1700 

1800 

1900 

2000 

2100 

2200 

2300 

2400 

2500 

2600 

2700 

2800 

0 

100 

200 

300 

400 

500 

600 

700 

800 

900 

1000 

11  00 

1200 

1300 

1400 

1500 

1600 

1700 

1800 

1900 

2000 

2100 

2200 

2300 

2400 

2500 

2600 

2700 

2800 

VALID  LINES 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

110 

120 

130 

140 

150 

160 

170 

180 

190 

200 

210 

220 

230 

240 

250 

260 

270 

280 

290 

300 

310 

320 

330 

340 

350 

360 

370 

380 

390 

400 

410 

420 

430 

440 

450 

460 

470 

480 

490 

500 

510 

520 

530 

540 

550 

560 

570 

580 

590 

600 

610 

620 

630 

640 

650 

660 

670 

680 

690 

700 

710 

720 

730 

740 

750 

760 

770 

780 

790 

800 

810 

ATTEMPTING 

RECOVERY: 

SHIFTING  1 

RIGHT 

it  OF  BYTES 

SHIFTED: 

0 

100 

200 

300 

400 

500 

valid  lines 

600 

700 

800 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

110 

120 

130 

140 

150 

160 

170 

180 

190 

200 

210 

220 

230 

240 

250 

260 

270 

280 

290 

300 

310 

320 

330 

340 

350 

360 

370 

380 

390 

400 

410 

420 

430 

440 

450 

460 

470 

480 

490 

500 

510 

520 

530 

540 

550 

560 

570 

580 

590 

600 

610 

620 

630 

640 

650 

660 

670 

680 

690 

700 

710 

720 

730 

740 

750 

760 

770 

780 

790 

800 

810 

820 

830 

840 

850 

860 

870 

880 

890 

900 

910 

920 

930 

940 

950 

960 

970 

980 

990 

1000 

1010 

1020 

1030 

1040 

ATTEMPTING 

RECOVERY: 

SHIFTING  1 

RIGHT 

# OF  BYTES 

SHIFTED: 

0 

100 

200 

300 

154  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


valid  lines 

^ m 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

no 

120 

130 

140 

150 

160 

170 

180 

190 

200 

210 

220 

230 

240 

250 

260 

270 

280 

290 

300 

310 

320 

330 

340 

350 

360 

370 

380 

390 

400 

410 

420 

430 

440 

450 

460 

470 

480 

490 

500 

510 

520 

530 

540 

550 

560 

570 

580 

590 

600 

610 

620 

630 

640 

650 

660 

670 

680 

690 

700 

710 

720 

730 

740 

750 

760 

770 

780 

790 

800 

810 

820 

830 

840 

850 

860 

870 

880 

890 

900 

910 

920 

930 

940 

950 

960 

970 

980 

990 

1000 

1010 

1020 

1030 

1040 

2108 

1060 

1070 

1080 

1090 

1100 

1 110 

1120 

1130 

1140 

1150 

1160 

1170 

1180 

1190 

1200 

1210 

1220 

RECOVERY  COMPLETE 

RECORD  FILE 

BACK  FROM 

BUFFER 

END  OF  FI LE= 

: 44082 

FILE  LENGTH* 

. 3122 

BREAK  IN  2000 

OK 

LOAD  "GL4" 

LIST  60-80 

60  ' 

70  !!!!!!!!! 

!!!!!!!!!! 

! ! ! 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

1 ! ! ! M ! ! ! 1 

!!!!!!!! 

i I ; I ! 

80  ' (CHECK  NUMBER  AND 

MONEY  AMOUNT  FROM  ENCODED 

MICR  BANK  FIELD'* 

OK 

LIST  800-820 

800  FOR  J=JS 

TO  3 

810  FIELD  #1 

(J-1 )*42 

AS 

D$, 42  AS  DREC$( J) 

820  ! ! 1 ! ! 1 ! 1 

Ml!!!!!!! 

! ! ! 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

1 M II  1 II  J 1 

!!!!!!! 

OK 

LIST  1020-1050 

1020  ' THIS 

ROUTINE  SORTS 

THE  TERMINAL 

ENTRIES  ON 

1 CHECK// 

1030  ' 

1040  ! ! ! 

OK 

LIST  1040-1070 

1040  ! ! I 

OK 

LIST  1040- 

1040  ! 1 ! 

2108  !!!!!!! 

! ! 

1060  EXH=0 

1070  IF  M=6 

THEN  1210 

1 

END  OF  SORT  - 

GOTO  NEXT 

ROUTINE 

C 

BREAK 

OK 

APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  755 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


ARASEM:  A Programming 


By  Frank  Da  Costa 


Definitions  for  the  term  '‘Robot”  come  fast  and  furious 
these  days.  The  central  characteristic  of  the  Robot,  it  is 
nevertheless  agreed,  is  "lifeiikeness"— that  is,  demon- 
strating the  attributes  of  living  things,  particularly  animals. 

Robotocists  spend  long,  hard  hours  trying  to  make  their 
creations  capable  of  imitating  life.  Wheels  for  motion, 
cameras  and  microphones  for  sensory  input,  speech  syn- 
thesis,  mechanical  arms  for  manipulation  — all  these  are 
developed  so  as  to  provide  the  Robot  with  the  same  basic 
inputs  and  outputs  as  living  creatures,  ideally  human  be- 
mgs.  However,  I/O  is  not  enough  to  complete  the  imitation. 
Unless  one  plans  on  direct  remote  control,  some  sort  of 
programming  must  be  developed  to  interpret  the  inputs, 
formulate  responses,  and  generate  outputs  in  some  ra- 
tional fashion.  And  that,  readers,  is  no  easy  trick. 

Compare  some  of  the  approaches  used  by  robot  experi- 
menters to  date.  On  the  lower  end  of  sophistication,  there 
is  David  Heiserman’s  Buster  III  robot.  The  responses 
generated  are  few  and  predictable,  based  on  the  “hard- 
wired” TTL  logic  design.  The  much  more  sophisticated 
automata,  such  as  MIT’s  “Shakey,”  respond  to  environ- 
ment via  a complex  internal  world  model.  The  responses 
are  much  more  varied,  but  are  still  predictable.  After  all, 
as  long  as  one  works  with  a finite  number  of  inputs  and 
outputs,  the  responses  are  predictable,  though  the  task 
of  prediction  can  become  quite  complex. 

Living  things,  though,  as  they  increase  in  complexity, 
seem  to  elude  prediction.  Man,  for  example,  has  myriads 
of  possible  choices  of  action  open  to  him  each  moment 
of  every  day.  And  despite  the  boastings  of  modern-day 
behavioral  psychologists,  Man's  response-patterns  are 
not  so  easily  reduced  to  simple  cause-and-effect  chains. 
There  is  a missing  constant,  an  elusive  element  which 
might  be  termed  the  “Unpredictability  Factor,” 

Now,  however  vague  and  elusive  that  Factor  might  be, 
it  is  certainly  missed  when  not  in  evidence.  Robots  that 
are  easily  predictable  are  interesting,  but  not  completely 
satisfying  as  “lifelike.”  And  yet,  one  does  not  want 
total,  irrational  randomness.  Animals  do  not  walk  around 
aimlessly  and  bump  into  walls.  Somewhere,  in  the  pro- 
gram of  philosophy  of  the  Robot,  there  must  be  a balance 
between  logical  choice  and  random  choice.  This  bal- 
ance is  the  primary  goal  of  ARASEM  programming 

ARASEM  stands  for  Artificially  RAndom  SEIf  Motiva- 
tion. The  purpose  of  such  programming  is  to  enable  the 
Robot  to  make  certain  “free”  or  random  choices  on  its 
own,  within  the  confines  of  some  sort  of  limiting  “ra- 
tional boundaries.”  When  the  Robot  is  not  under  direct 
human  operation,  it  has  a number  of  courses  of  action 
open  to  it,  limited  only  by  software  — programmed  “prob 
ability  factors.”  It  is  free  to  select,  but  it  is  not  “out  of 
control.”  This  is  the  heart  of  an  ARASEM  approach. 

This  is  in  fact  analogous  to  the  concept  of  “freewill” 
In  the  human  being.  Environment  and  stimuli  do  not 
directly  determine  a person’s  choice,  but  they  do  shape 


it,  placing  border  lines  on  it.  Thus  a person  is  truly  free 
to  choose  — he  is  not  a puppet  of  circumstance  — and 
yet  he  makes  use  of  his  environment  and  experience  to 
delimit  his  choice.  This  is  an  ideal  concept  to  incor- 
porate Into  the  Robot. 

Now  let's  get  down  to  some  practical.  Suppose,  for 
the  sake  of  discussion,  that  you  have  a Robot  based  on 
an  8080A  microprocessor.  The  Robot  might  have  a num- 
ber of  sensory  inputs,  such  as  a microphone,  a bank  of 
photocells,  perhaps  a proximity  sensor  of  some  type; 
and  a number  of  outputs,  such  as  wheels,  arms  with 
gripping  hands,  and  even  some  sort  of  rudimentary  aud- 
ible output.  It  has,  that  is,  a wide  variety  of  available 
responses  to  a wide  variety  of  stimuli. 

In  the  8080  program  memory,  the  robotocist  could  list 
the  whole  range  of  responses  in  a row.  But  the  robot 
would  simple  execute  the  whole  list,  without  heed  to  in- 
put. The  programmer  will  have  to  develop  relationships 
“between  I & G.”  But  at  any  rate,  that  “list”  has  to  go. 

And  so,  the  possible  responses  have  to  be  treated  rather 
as  a “look-up  table,”  a set  of  blocks  with  initial  addresses 
to  jump  to.  That  way,  a list  of  conditions  can  determine 
which  response  to  choose.  “If  you  hear  a loud  noise, 
jump  to  the  ‘run-ltke  crazy1  subroutine/1  so  to  speak. 

But  it  is  not  enough  to  simply  treat  each  single  re* 
sponse,  such  as  dose  hand  or  move  forward  as  an  iso- 
lated subroutine.  For  instance,  the  Robot  should  not 
move  forward  without  regard  for,  say,  proximity  of  a 
nearby  wall.  The  point  is,  each  block-response  may  be  a 
simple  motion,  or  it  may  need  to  be  a medium-complex 
subroutine  complete  with  conditional  jumps  and  refer- 
ences to  I/O  or  memory. 

Now  we  have  a set  of  programmed,  software-select* 
able  choices  of  action  — as  of  yet  with  no  way  to  access 
them.  We  spoke  earlier  of  ARASEM  including  the  con- 
cept of  artificial  random  choice.  What  we  really  need  for 
this  is  a good  pseudorandom  number  generator. 

It  is  not  crucial  to  the  discussion  at  hand  to  know  how 
one  generates  random  numbers.  One  might  use  a totally 
mathematical  approach  in  software.  Or  perhaps  one 
might  have  an  externa!  8>bit  counter  running  loose  as  an 
input.  But  assuming  you  have  a good  method  of  produc- 
ing random  8-bit  words,  you  can  then  use  them  as  a 
basis  for  artificially  random  choice. 

The  first  step  in  the  ARASEM  approach  ts  to  use  a 
first  random  number  to  suggest  a possible  course  of  ac- 
tion — call  it  a candidate  subroutine.  This  is  done  by 
dividing  to  each  possible  response-block  an  equal 
“slice”  of  the  8-bit  random  number.  That  is,  if  you  had  8 
available  subroutines,  each  would  be  assigned  32  num* 
bers  out  of  the  total  256  numbers  which  an  8-bit  word 
could  be.  Subroutine  One  would  be  the  candidate  if  the 
random  number  was  from  00000000  to  00011111  (00  to 
IF  Hex);  Subroutine  Two  would  be  the  one  if  the  number 
was  from  00100000  to  00111111  (20  to  3F  Hex);  and  so 
on.  In  this  way,  each  of  the  8 subroutines  has  an  equal 
probability  — or  12.5%  — of  being  the  candidate. 

The  second  step  in  the  ARASEM  approach  is  to  im- 
pose a software-stored  probability-percentage  on  the 
candidate.  Each  possible  subroutine  has  a number,  indi- 


156  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


Approach  for  Robots 


eating  a probability  percentage,  stored  in  RAM  for  itself. 
The  size  of  this  8-bit  Probability  Word  is  determined  by 
the  designer  (more  later).  When  a candidate  has  been 
suggested,  a second  random  number  is  called  up  and  is 
compared  with  the  Probability  Word  associated  with 
that  candidate.  If  the  random  number  is  fess  than  the 
Probability  Word,  then  the  candidate  is  accessed  and 
performed  by  the  robot;  if  the  random  number  is  not 
iessT  then  the  program  loops  back  to  Step  One  to  find  a 
new  candidate. 

It's  easy  to  see  how  the  size  of  the  Probability  Word 
controls  probability  of  action.  The  larger  a number  it  is, 
the  greater  the  chance  of  the  candidate  becoming  ac- 
tual. Thus,  a Probability  Word  of  11111111  (FF  Hex)  is 
almost  100%  chance  of  the  candidates  being  acted  out; 
10000000  (80  Hex)  would  yield  about  a 50%  chance,  and 
00000000  (00  Hex)  would  never  permit  the  choice.  In  this 
way,  the  programmer  can  shape  his  robot's  response 
patterns  in  a complex  fashion. 


Figure  1.  The  basic  flowchart  of  ARASEM.  A jump  state- 
ment at  the  end  of  each  subroutine  returns  the  program 
flow  to  the  ARASEM  process* 

Let's  review  a bit.  All  possible  courses  of  action  ar^ 
placed  into  subroutine  blocks*  Each  block  is  assigned  a 
probability  to  limit  its  chances  of  being  accessed,  A first 
random  number  suggests  any  one  block  on  an  equal 
basis.  A second  random  number  is  compared  to  the 
assigned  Probability  Word  and  determines  if  the  sug- 


gested block  should  be  accomplished  by  the  robot.  Fig- 
ure 1 illustrates  this  process  in  block  form. 

Program  1 provides  an  example  of  how  ARASEM  can  be 
implemented,  using  8080  Op  Code.  Remember  that  there 
are  (hypothetically)  eight  subroutines  from  which  to 
choose,  each  with  a Probability  Word  to  limit  its  chances 
of  execution*  Port  01  is  assumed  to  be  some  sort  of  ex- 
ternal source  of  8-bit  pseudorandom  numbers. 

The  portin  labeled  CAND  chooses  a first  random  num- 
ber and  stores  it  in  Register  B for  later  use*  Also, 
Register  A is  loaded  in  preparation  for  the  next  section, 
in  STEP,  a loop  is  set  up,  wherein  the  content  of  A steps 
in  eight  equal  increments  from  20  to  FF  to  select  a can- 
didate subroutine.  A is  repeatedly  compared  to  the  ran- 
dom number  in  B?  until  A ^passes”  B in  its  upward  ramp. 
Register  G keeps  track  of  the  looping,  and  will  result 
with  a number  from  01  to  08  — indicating  one  of  the 
eight  subroutines. 

Now  that  a candidate  has  been  determined,  the  Prob- 
ability Word  must  come  into  play*  PROB  selects  and 
stores  a second  random  number  in  B.  Using  the  number 
In  C,  it  finds  the  corresponding  Probability  Word  in  the 
look-up  table  labefed  TABX.  Then  it  compares  the  lo- 
cated Probability  Word  with  the  second  random  number. 
If  the  random  number  is  less  than  the  Probability  Word, 
then  the  candidate  Is  confirmed  to  be  performed  by  the 
robot.  If  not,  the  program  loops  back  to  CAND  and  starts 
all  over  again. 

VECT  makes  use  of  that  number  in  C to  find  the  Upper 
and  Lower  addresses  of  the  candidate  subroutine,  which 
are  stored  in  the  look-up  table  marked  TABY.  It  loads 
these  into  Registers  H and  L,  and  thereby  jumps  to  the 
subroutine*  A jump-instruction  at  the  end  of  the  subrou- 
tine returns  the  program  flow  to  the  ARASEM  process, 
starting  at  GAMD. 

This  may  seem  a complicated  approach  to  introducing 
unpredictability  into  a robot.  And  yet,  there  are  avenues 
of  robot  response  opened  up  by  the  ARASEM  approach 
which  are  not  easily  achieved  by  less  complex  schemes. 

The  most  attractive  side-benefit  of  the  ARASEM  con- 
cept is  the  accessibility  of  those  Probability  Words  in 
memory.  By  merely  changing  one  8-bit  word,  a whole 
area  of  response  is  affected.  And  this  is  a powerful  tool 
to  use  in  more  complex  program  variations. 

For  instance,  let's  say  that  the  robot  chooses  to  run, 
full  steam  ahead,  within  a very  small  room,, .and  crashes 
into  a wall,  A part  of  the  program  could  sense  that 
damage  resulted  from  such  an  action,  and  could  actual- 
ly decrement  the  Probability  Word  associated  with  that 
action.  Result:  the  robot  chooses  more  careful  actions. 
In  effect,  ARASEM  is  the  foundation  for  rudimentary 
trial-and-error  learning  processes. 

Amateur  roboticists  will  spend  much  time  developing 
sophisticated,  dependable  I/O*  It’s  a shame  to  see  im- 
pressively mechanical  creations  do  nothing  more  signi- 
ficant than  maneuver  In  a circle,  or  follow  a light  source* 
And  yet,  the  home  experimenter  as  a rule  cannot  afford 
to  interface  his  robot's  body  to  a PDP-1Q  or  something. 
ARASEM,  or  some  variation  of  it,  could  be  an  effective 
and  moderately-easy  medium  to  introduct  homebrew 
robots  to  the  world  of  artificial  intelligence. □ 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  157 


ROBOTS 


are  almost  within  our  reach 
and  we  within  theirs 


Intelligent  machines  — 
machines  that  sense,  decide, 
work,  do  battle  (but  don’t 
vote)  — are  being  developed 
now  in  the  laboratories  of 
governments  and  industries 
and  on  the  workbenches  of 
thousands  of  free  citizens 
exercising  their  freedom  in  the 
new  field  of  personal  com- 
puting. Robots  are  on  our 
doorstep  — “for  good  or  for 
ill." 

USRS  is  established  “for 
good”  the  good  of  Mankind  — 
not  in  opposition  or  advocacy 
(opposition  is  idle,  advocacy 
unnecessary}  but  to  gather 
information  and  report  to  all 
who  can  face  the  Age  of  the 
Robot  with  the  appropriate 
curiosity  and  spirit  of  adven- 
ture, We  invite  your  support 
and  active  participation.  Char- 
ter membership  and  first-year 
dues  $12.  Details  with  your 
certificate. 

United 

States 

Robotics 

Society 

A Non-Profit  Organization 
Glenn  R*  Norris,  President 
Box  26484 

Albuquerque,  New  Mexico  87102 


USRS 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  97 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


PROGRAM  1 


HEX 

ADDRESS 

CODE 

LABEL 

OP  CODE 

COMMENTARY 

0000 

DB  01 

CAND: 

IN  01 

Select  Random  Number  1 

0002 

47 

MOV  B,A 

Store  RN  1 in  B 

0003 

3E  FF 

MVI  A,FF 

Load  FF  into  A 

0005 

06  20 

STEP: 

ADI  20 

Add  20  to  A 

0007 

DC 

INR  C 

Increment  C 

0008 

FE  FF 

CPI  FF 

Compare  FF  to  (A) 

000A 

CA  11  00 

JZ  PROS 

Jump  to  PROB  It  (A)  = FF 

0000 

BB 

CMP0 

Compare  RN  1 to  (A) 

000  E 

DA  05  00 

JC  STEP 

Loop  to  STEP  if  RN  1 > (A) 

0011 

DB  01 

PROS: 

IN  01 

Select  Random  Number  2 

0013 

47 

MOV  B.A 

Store  RN  2 in  B 

0014 

3E  30 

MVI  AiTABX 

Move  Lower  Byte  of  TABX 
Address  into  A 

0016 

81 

ADD  C 

Add  C to  A 

0017 

6F 

MOV  L,A 

Move  A to  L 

001 8 

26  00 

MVI  H.TABX 

Move  Upper  Byte  of  TABX 
Address  into  H 

001 A 

78 

MOV  A,B 

Move  RN  2 into  A 

0018 

BE 

CMP  M 

Compare  RN  2 to  Probability 
Word 

001  c 

D2  00  00 

JNC  CANO 

Select  New  Candidate  If 
RN  2 4 Probability  Word 

001 F 

3E  40 

VECT: 

MVI  A JABY 

Load  A with  Lower  Byte  of 
TABY  Address 

0021 

81 

ADD  C 

Add  C to  A 

0022 

6F 

MOV  LkA 

Move  A to  L 

0023 

26  00 

MVI  H,TABY 

Move  Upper  Byte  Of  TABY 
Address  to  H 

0025 

5E 

MOV  E,M 

Move  Subroutine  Lower 
Address  Byte  to  E 

0026 

3E08 

MVI  Af08 

Move  08  into  A 

0028 

85 

ADD  L 

Add  A to  L 

0029 

6F 

MOV  LhA 

Move  A to  L 

002A 

56 

MOV  D.M 

Load  D with  Subroutine 
Upper  Address  Byte 

002 B 

EB 

XCHG 

Exchange  H-L  with  D-E 

002C 

E9 

PCHl 

Jump  to  Candidate  Subroutine 

0030 

00 

TABX: 

NOP 

Marker  Byte 

0031 

XX 

data 

Probability  Word  1 

0032 

XX 

data 

Probability  Word  2 

m 

■ 

■ 

• 

* 

* 

• 

* 

■ 

• 

• 

* 

0038 

XX 

data 

Probability  WordS 

0040 

XX 

data 

Subroutine  1 Lower  Address 

0042 

XX 

data 

Subroutine  2 Lower  Address 

m 

■ 

• 

* 

* 

• 

* 

• 

0048 

XX 

data 

Subroutine  8 Lower  Address 

0049 

XX 

data 

Subroutine  1 Upper  Address 

004A 

* 

XX 

• 

data 

ir 

Subroutine  2 Upper  Address 

* 

* 

* 

* 

0050 

XX 

data 

Subroutine  8 Upper  Address 

Program  1 An  example  of  the  ARASEM  approach,  writ- 
ten  in  8080  machine  language.  Port  01  is  assumed  as  an 
external  source  of  pseudorandom  numbers. 


158  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


S.D.  COMPUTER  PRODUCTS 


AN  EMPIRE  i wo  CO 


P.Q.  BOX  2S8I0E 


DALLAS,  TEXAS  75228 


64 K FOR  $995.00 

At  last!  The  popular  Expandoram  is 
availabfe  in  a 16k  multiple  version. 
Similar  to  our  32k  Expandoram,  the 
new  Super  Expandoram  is  offered  in 
16k,  32k;  48k  and  64k.  Low  power 
devices  mean  the  very  lowest  power 
consumption.  Allow  3-4  weeks  for 
delivery. 

16K  — $281.00  48K  — $757,00 

32K  — $519.00  64 K — $995.00 


32K  FOR  $475  EXPANDORAM  KIT  24*  F°R  $367.00 


memory  ca  pa  ci  tv 

MEMORY  ADDRESSING 
MEMORY  WRITE 
PROTECTION 

6K  1BK.  24K.  32K,  using  M&S 
lEk  MK^IlS  With  0K  bonnet - 
Jr.uS  sad  protection  U1 1 1 1 i &5 

DIP  switches  PC  Board  come* 
wdh  sockets  for  32K  opersEion- 
Orders  now  t»mc  accepted 
Atiaw  6 tu  fl  weeks  Ter  delivery 


mTm- 


Bur  SKW  compatible  0K  Ram  Board  and  upgrade  the  same  board  to  a maximum  of 
32K  m steps  of  &K  at  your  oonon  oy  merely  purchasing  more  ram  chips  Perm  $ o 
Sales!  At  a guaranteed  price  — Look  al  the  leatures  we  nave  built  rnto  the  Board 


16K  FOR  $259.00 


INTERFACE  CAPABILITY 
Gonlr&i  dal  a and  address  in- 
puts ul  ill  res  law  power 
Schallhy  devices 
ROWER  REQUIREMENTS 
- BVDC  nQOMA  DC 
* 10VDC  4Q0MA  DC 
-1BVDC30MADC 
on  Doard  regulation  rs  provrd- 
ed  On  board  (in  * isrbie ) refresh 
is  provided  #n h no  wait  stales 
or  cycle  s I eahng  required 
MEMORY  ACCESS  TIME 
IS  375na 

Memory  Cyde  Time  is  500ns 


8K  FOR  $151.00 


Z-80CPU  BOARD  KIT  - $139. 

CHECK  THE  ADVANCED  FEATURES  OF  OUR  Z-8G 
CPU  BOARD  Expanded  set  oi  I SB  instructions.  B060  A 
sod  ware  capability  operation  from  a fling fe  5VDC  power 
lupply.  always  slops  on  an  Ml  sfale.  true  syne  g#neraltd 
on  card  i a real  piui  feature').  dynamic  refresh  and  NMi 
available  eitner  ZMHZor  a MHZ  operation . Qual-ly  dopoie 
flitted  blared  through  PC  board,  parts  plus  sockets  priced 
for  ail  tC  s "Add  HOeur*  for  Z— BOA  chip  wmen  allows, 
a MHZ  oper  at  ipn  Z — 80  chip  with  M *nu  a f — ^ 


S.D,  SALES  NEW 
EXPANDABLE  EPROM  BOARD 

16K  or  32 K EPROM  $49,95  w/out  EPROM 
A Nows  you  to  use  either  2708  s for  16K  of 
Eprom  or  271 6 s for  32K  of  Eprom. 

KIT  FEATURES: 

1.  All  address  lines  & data  lines  buffered. 

2.  Quality  plated  through  P.C.  Board,  in* 
eluding  solder  mask  and  silk  screen. 

3.  Selectable  wait  states. 

4.  On  board  regulalion  provided, 

5.  All  sockets  provided  w/ board 

WE  CAN  SUPPLY  450ns  2708  s AT  $11.95 
WHEN  PURCHASED  WITH  BOARD. 


4K  LOW  POWER  RAM  KIT 


Fuliv  Bub  erect  — pn  board  regulated  — 
reduced  power  consumption  ulih/mg 
luw  power  21L02  - 1 50Qns  RAMS  — 
Sockets  provided  for  an  1C  a Dwa.i.iy 
P‘41  ed  I h rpuH^b  PC  board  + Ad  d 1 1 0 fdr 
PAM  owraiign 


The  Whole  Works  -$79.95 


8K  LOW  POWER  RAM  - $159.95 

Fully  assembled  and  tested 
Not  a M(.  Imaat  — Ai  l air  — 

S-ifM  Buss  compatible,  uses 
law  power  static  2tL02-5pt»ns 
fully  buffered  on  board  regulat- 
ed, quality  plated  ih  rough  PC 

beard.  int»udrng  spider  mask  a 250  ns  Ooeration 

pcs  am  switches  igr  address  * H 

■«*»■  $189,95 


6 DIGIT  ALARM  CLOCK  KIT 

Features:  Litronix  dual  1/2’“  displays,  Moslem 
50250  super  dock  chip,  single  I C segment 
driver.  SCR  digit  drivers,  Kit  includes  all  ne- 
cessary parts  [except  case].  Xlmr  optional 
Eliminate  trie  hassle  <c  i o nc 

AC  XFMR  - $1,50  Case  $3.50  $14,90 


Bowmar  4 Digit  LED  Readout  Array 
FulJ  YaT1  Lttronix  Jumbo  Dual 
Digit  LED  Displays 

4 JUMBO  .50’ h DIGITS  ON  ONE  STICK! 
WITH  COLONS  & AM/ PM  INDICATOR 
-S3. 95b 


DL  722-  C C 
DL  721  8C  A 
99c 


DL  72fl  - C C 
DL  727  G A 
SI  29 


NEW  FROM  S.D. 

"VERSAFLOPPY”™  KIT 

THE  VERSATILE  FLOPPY  DISK  CONTROLLER 

ONLY  $149.00 

Ruvfd  IfiH  ]?<B  Suit  SwlfifM  Com^iitili.  S IOC  6WS  Com- 

e*1lB»*  lor  z HO  (.1  tomrBls  up  tn  I Drwtt  itmtli  or 

dvu^re  ndrd,  &ip*;.1I,  tn«i*nH.  Ihc  lolling 

i 5 '■  u.rji  ri  MUni  Fioppj 

?.  Shujgart  S^AOO.'iSO  SlJrAdinf  flgrajj)! 
i.  PEffSCl  7b  ind  17?: 

A MFC  700/740. 

5.  GDC  M04mqfi 

34  Pin  CcnnBClnr  >0*  Mffli  Flcrai^  SO  P«n  C*nn*Clor  Ter  Slindiud 
OptmlM  Wilh  unotfiritn  CP/M  flp+nilmfl  syflloiri  and 

Q G-dSic  Cafh-ptir r 

the  hr*  ' Vtn*UappY'  Ifii"  ?.p.  Cpm p,i Hr  PraduCIv  prpvnle-. 
CCHikDl«l*  toMtQ\  lor  nuinf  e]t  the  Available  Flgp*v  t)i»  Dirg-fv, 
Bolh  Mini  enrr  Pup  A:  Acerl  ol  "Yfria’lappy"  IS.  the 

p^warlvl  We»ler,i  bl|[|fn1  FtJj77l6  J S inale  Oeniily  Contra  Ilex 
Chip.  Thu  allow*  a if  1*41  ri»,iDiliijr  via  Caalroi  Sdhware.  Likimn 
tor  Compel  SoMwirii  ir#  ntlipdccf  in  liia  pnef. 

FD  17718-1  CHIP  ALONE  J39.95  • 


Low  Cost  Cassette 
Interface  Kit 


»<Si- 

rii'  "Hi. 


fnlLTl!  Fl*e  «ni>  rpcnnS  K,C.  Slintfira  ?*D07I31Kl  Hf 
llpn  300  ttlurj  TIL  I/O  CafnmUbli.  PMu  L«h  Lwp. 
b.'>i h 21  Fin  CafiAteior  ind  a P,n  Main  C«eniti[ir 
Conrn  B4ft.*iiT  iiMAblid  bieiiHlor  ind  ph,i,  ikj 
Iwe  lire  rv»ld  IHt.  i!lh-a*rtf  iwktdk  urdi 

ci 1 1* Hr  d|l|  or  Idi’hir)  mojl  dtlt  ta  IHi Crc £ iimiiui 
Lf  0 mditmi  lofic  3 Irwl 


$19.95 


Jumbo  LED  Car  Clock  Kit 


FEATURES 

A Bowmar  Jumtw  5 inch  l£D  array 
B MOSTEK  — 50250  — Super  clock  chip 
C Qn  board  precision  cryslai  time  bast? 

O or  24  hpgr  Real  Time  formal. 

£ Put  I eel  lor  cats  boats,  vans,  ale 
F PC  board  and  ail  parts  Hess  case)  ific 
Alai  m oplmn  — $t  SO 
AC  XFMR  - li  50 


$16.95 


RAMS  i 

Jlt£)7  50QNS  fi 

il  so 

J't.07  JWN$  6- 

'5  95 

V'  14  - l¥. 

^ 95 

MEJIA 

QC 

HOI  - IK 

J5 

Mi.  J11!i  g*. 

it  45 

rjsajt] 

3 9^ 

CPUs 

1 Z - HO  nil  ■ nwl uJi 

7i  95 

1 Z -HU4  rtMTiufiesmaiJuai' 

-14  95 

■ 8DWJAI CPUS  HIT 

1 ' ^5 

■ «JOH  tFhJfl  Bit 

fc  95 

; PROMS 

1 I702A  IK  i.Sus  3.95  ar  lO/SsTl 

■ 270£  ■ 3K  ■ 450ns  . 

14.95  1 

■ 5204  - 4K 

7.95  1 

■ 3?S1?9  — IK 

2.50  1 

■ 2703U  8K  £i£nelic5  SSOnv 

9 95  1 

COUNTER  CHIPS 

MK50397  € Digit  elapsed  limer 

e.95 

MK50250  Alarm  dock 

4.99 

MK5Q3BQ  Alarm  chiq 

2.95 

MK50395  S digit  up/tfn.  counl. 

12,95. 

MK500Z  4 rfifcii  counter 

B. 95 

MK502  !■  Cal.  chip  %q.  rrot  .. 

2.50 

★ ★ ★ -A-super  floppy  special^  ★ ★ ★ 

S,  D,  SALES/  VER5AFL0PPY  S 100  CONTROLLER  BOARD  PLUS 
S HUG  ART  SA  400  FLOPPY  DISK  DRIVE  INCLUDING  CABLE  FOR  ONLY 

$479,00 


MICROPROCESSOR 

CHIPS 


MICRO-DIP  $1.95 

• New  — SaTies  2300 
T ho  Wor  id's  Smat  I est 
Coded  BCD  Du  si -In  Line 
Switch*  PC  Mourn 
2300  02G  BCD  1-2-4-S 
2300  120  SCO  1-2-4-S 

CompSimen^ 


* * JOY  STicKS-k  * 

FOUR  100  K-OHMS 
POTS  * 

Ideal  for  ' 
electronic  3*  - tJ 
games  $3.95 


Thermistors  1.5K  ohm  S/S1.00 

Tantalum  Caps  1 mfd,  20VOC 


P.C.  Leads 
Flat  Pack  1C  Assort. 
Electrical  Coil 

13T  Type  C - 10T  Type  C 
2 Transistor  Audio 
Trimmer  Pots 

IQ K.  2QK,  25 K,  Mini 
Disc  Caps  For  Bypass 
.01  mfg  - 100  WUDC 
PC  Leads 

New  Cambion  Jacks 
Part  #450-4352 
Gold  Plated 


15/11.00 
207  $1.00 

12/$!. DO 
S7S1.00 

10/ $1.00 


40/$  1.00 


50/$l  .00 


Z-80 

Programming  Manual 

IN  DEPTH  DETAIL  OF 
THE  Z 60  CPU 
MICROCOMPUTER 

S.  D.  SALES  SPECIAL 

$9.95 


^Silicon  Rectifier  Special  IN4007.  ^ 

1 amp  1000  PN  10/$1.00 

Photocell  Assortment  12/$  1, 00 

Plastic  Readout  f liters 

Amber  67  $1.00 

Disc  Cap  Assort  nent  607$1,00 

P.C.  Lead  Diodes 

1N414B  IN  914  100/S2.00 

1N40024A  100  PN  .40/$!. 00 

MICA  Trimmer 

PC4D2  Miniature 
1.5-20  P.C.  P.C.  Mount  4/S1.00 
Resistor  Special  22  ohm 

Carbon  Comp.  25/11.00 

Resistor  Assortment  1/4  W 5%  & 

10%  PC  leads  200/$1.50 


8212  - 170  port 

.3  5G 

8211  _ p j.CT 

12.95 

8216  — Nun  Invert  Bui 

4 95 

8224  — Deck  Gen. 

4 S5 

8226  “ Invert  Bus  . . 

3,95 

PIO  for  Z—00 

14.95 

CTC  tor  l— @0 

14.95 

8228  Sys.  Controller 

a.  26 

8251  Prog.  comm,  inferfuct 

10  95 

8255  prog.  prep,  interface 

13,50 

8S2Q  Dual  Line  Recr 

1.75 

3830  Dual  Une  Dr.  ... 

1.75 

2513  Char.  Don. 

7.50 

8838  Quad  Bus.  Ffccvr. 

. 2.00 

74L5138N  — 1/B  decoder 

99 

8T97  Her  tri. Stale  Du  Her 

1.25 

1488/1489  RS232 

1.50 

IR  1652B  Hart 

3 95 

TR  1963  Hart 

a.  so 

FD  17710-1 

39  95 

CMOS 

CHOOSE  SI.  FREE  MERCHANDISE  FROM  ASTERISK  ITEMS  ON  EACH  $15  ORDER 


4001 

19 

4029 

99 

4002 

19 

4042 

69 

4011 

19 

4047 

1 so 

4013 

32 

4049 

35 

4016 

32 

4069 

23 

4017 

95 

4071 

19 

4020 

97 

4076 

97 

4022 

97 

14518 

MO 

4024 

75 

14528 

85 

4027 

39 

14529 

35 

CALL  IN  YOUR  BAN KAM ERICA RD 
(VISA)  OR  MASTER  CHARGE  OR- 
DER IN  ON  OUR  CONTINENTAL 
TOLL  FREE  WATTS  LINE: 

j — 800— 527— 3460 


Tenii  Reflidcnia  Ciil  Coiled  . 

214/271 — 0022 

DEALER  INQUIRIES  INVITEDf 


NO  COOs.  TEXAS  RESIDENTS  ADD 
SALES  TAX  ADD  5%  OF  ORDER 
FOR  POSTAGE  Br  HANDLING  OR 
DERS  UNDER  $10  ADD  75c  HAND 
LING. FOREIGN  ORDERS  - U S 
FUNDS  ONLY! a 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  90 


INTERFACE  AGE  159 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  TUTORIAL 


DOCUMENTATION: 

Users  can’t  do  without  it;  but  programmers  can 

...  or  can  they? 

By  Tom  Fay 

Senior  Applications  Programmer,  National  Semiconductor 


The  most  difficult  part  of  writing  software  is  the 
documentation.  This  article  by  Tom  describes  an  ex- 
cellent method  of  handling  the  documentation , and  its 
Importance.  —Editor 


Even  before  computerists  have  assembled  the  sys- 
tem of  their  dreams,  many  make  the  unpleasant  dis- 
covery that  those  systems  have  an  enormous  appetite 
for  software,  devouring  whole  programs  without  even 
pausing.  What  is  worse,  it  soon  becomes  evident  that 
the  time  involved  with  building  the  system  is  quite  small 
compared  to  the  time  the  computerist  could  spend 
writing  decent  software. 

Typically,  this  is  when  the  average  (or  even  excep- 
tional) computerist  begins  a never  ending  search  for 
good,  useful  software  to  add  to  a growing  library  of  pro- 
grams. The  only  problem  is  that,  as  each  new  gem  is  ac- 
quired, the  hobbyist  has  to  figure  out  how  to  adapt  it, 
run  it,  and  use  it.  What  is  worse,  that  sequence  must  be 
repeated  at  least  partially  with  every  re-use,  especially 
as  the  program  library  grows.  And  that  can  slow  things 
down  considerably. 

So,  after  pursuing  this  paper  chase  only  a short  while, 
the  computerist  comes  to  realize  what  some  profes- 
sionals still  haven’t  learned  — documentation  is  impor- 
tant. It’s  important  to  know  that  the  game  program  you 
just  got  is  impossible  to  run  without  a graphics  capabil- 
ity on  your  TV.  And  it’s  important  to  know  where  to 
modify  an  assembler  so  it  will  take  the  lower  case  let- 
ters your  keyboard  produces. 

Okay,  fine,  documentation  is  important,  but  who  can 
stand  to  do  it?  Generally  programmers  spend  all  their 
time  cranking  out  the  code,  which  is  natural  since  code 
is  the  bottom  line  of  programming.  Then,  maybe,  if 
there’s  time,  they’ll  put  some  half-hearted  effort  into 
documenting  the  finished  product,  especially  if  they 
really  didn’t  intend  to  do  anything  more  than  use  the 
program  themselves.  The  result  is  that  documentation 
tends  to  be  sketchy  to  begin  with,  and  things  get  pro- 
gressively worse  from  there. 

First,  the  hobbyist  standard  version  of  software  pub- 
lication, passing  the  program  from  cassette  to  cassette, 
rapidly  separates  the  documentation  from  the  program. 
The  first  user  has  the  documentation,  and  everyone  else 
just  has  a copy  of  the  program.  Second,  even  if  the 
documentation  does  miraculously  manage  to  keep  up 
with  the  software  physically,  it  rapidly  loses  touch  with 
it  logically.  Because  of  the  wide  variety  of  hardware 
systems  in  the  hobbyist  ranks  and  because  every  hob- 
byist has  distinct  tastes  in  system  operation,  the  soft- 
ware frequently  acquires  new  features  and  loses  old 
ones  at  each  stop  in  the  publication  cycle. 


Analyzing  the  symptoms,  it  is  clear  the^entral  prob- 
lem is  that  the  program  and  the  documentation  are  writ- 
ten, published,  and  maintained  as  two  separate  units. 
They  aren’t,  of  course.  They  really  are  parts  of  a system, 
one  which  must  concern  itself  not  only  with  interfacing 
to  a printer  or  video  display,  but  also  to  the  user  who  sits 
in  front  of  that  printer  or  display.  No  matter  how  slick  a 
program  Is,  it  will  never  get  used  if  no  one  knows  how  to. 

What  follows  is  a proposal  for  a documentation  tech- 
nique which  solves  this  problem  and  has  several  added 
benefits  as  well: 

1)  Its  standard  format  is  flexible,  yet  it  provides  a 
familiar  link  to  unfamiliar  programs. 

2)  It  is  relatively  painless  to  write  because  it  becomes 
an  integral  part  of  the  development  process. 

3)  It  is  firmly  attached  to  the  software. 

4)  It  is  easily  modified  as  the  software  is  modified. 

5)  It  fits  easily  into  an  automated  system  of  docu- 
mentation for  maximum  availability  of  information 
with  minimum  effort. 

6)  It  provides  an  easy  introduction  to  the  software, 
while  also  providing  the  full  details  for  its  func- 
tioning and  use. 

What  is  this  magic  technique  which  does  so  much? 
Simply  this:  the  documentation  should  be  incorporated 
directly  into  the  program,  so  that  documentation  and 
program  are,  in  fact,  one  unit.  Specifically,  blocks  of 


/*  THIS  IS  A PU1  COMMENT  */ 

C THIS  IS  A FORTRAN  COMMENT 

* THIS  IS  A 6800  OR  OBM  370  COMMENT 
; THIS  IS  AN  8080,  Z-80,  OR  6502  COMMENT 
REM  THIS  IS  A BASIC  COMMENT 
*b  THIS  IS  A COBOL  COMMENT 


Figure  1.  Most  assembler  and  higher  level  languages 
provide  a means  of  inserting  plain  English  commentary 
directly  into  programs. 


English  language  comments  interspersed  with  execut- 
ing code  describe  the  functioning  of  that  code  as  well 
as  its  requirements  for  normal  operation.  Smart  pro- 
grammers already  sprinkle  comments  or  remarks  liber- 
ally throughout  their  programs,  knowing  that  even  they 
will  need  such  commentary  after  they’ve  had  time  to 
forget  the  many  details  they  juggled  as  they  coded. 
Most,  however,  don’t  include  comments  with  an  eye  to 
any  kind  of  formal  documentation. 

In-program  documentation  of  the  type  suggested  has 
some  obvious  things  going  for  it,  solving  several  of  the 
problems  mentioned  earlier.  Program  and  documenta- 


160  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  TUTORIAL 


tion  are  one  unit,  so  they  stay  together  in  the  publica- 
tion cycle.  As  one  unit,  documentation  changes  are 
much  more  likely  to  parallel  program  changes.  The 
documentation  can  be  done  at  the  same  time  as  program 
development  (actually,  as  wIN  be  discussed  later,  it  may 
even  precede  program  development).  Finally,  as  part  of 
the  program,  the  documentation  can  be  of  maximum 
usefulness  in  understanding  that  program. 

The  form  in-program  documentation  takes  it  also  very 
important  if  it  is  to  be  of  maximum  value.  In  recent 
years,  a technique  called  HIPO  — hierarchy  plus  mput- 
process-output  — was  developed  as  a means  of  design- 


ing and  documenting  software  systems.  The  idea 
behind  it  is  the  notion  that  all  design  problems  can  be 
broken  down  into  small,  easily  understood  parts  which 
are  much  easier  to  solve  with  software.  In  designing  a 
software  system  to  perform  the  desired  function,  the 
designer  starts  at  the  top  (hence  hierarchy),  defining  on 
a general  level  what  the  system  must  do.  As  the  design 
focuses  on  each  element  of  the  over-alt  function,  a 
separate  (lower  level)  unit  is  defined  which  handles  just 
that  aspect.  If  that  specific  function  can  be  further 
broken  down  into  still  lower  level  functions,  this  is  done 
as  well.  The  process  continues  until  the  lowest  level 
functional  definitions  may  easily  be  converted  into  code 
to  carry  out  those  functions.  These  units  of  code  may 
then  be  strung  together  to  perform  the  overall  function. 
The  intent  of  this  design  technique  is  to  break  what  may 
be  an  exceedingly  complex  problem  into  smaller,  less 
complex,  and  more  easily  handled  problems. 

HIPO  goes  one  step  further  by  providing  a uniform 
means  of  defining  each  of  the  design  units  so  that  code 


INPUT 


PROCESS 


OUTPUT 


[Figure  3.  All  software  may  be  thought  of  in  the  terms  of 
black  box’  processing:  it  has  some  inputs,  it  does  some 
processing,  and  it  produces  some  outputs. 


APRIL  1978 


can  easily  be  written  to  carry  out  the  function  defined 
for  that  unit.  Each  of  the  functional  units  defined  may  be 
thought  of  as  a black  box  into  which  various  things  are 
fed  and  from  which  various  things  emerge.  That  is,  every 
unit  has  various  inputs , performs  some  type  of  process- 
ing, and  produces  some  sort  of  outputs . Thus,  a natural 
way  to  define  each  of  the  HIPO  units  is  to  describe  the 
inputs,  the  processing,  and  the  outputs  of  that  unit. 

This  is  precisely  the  type  of  documentation  which  can 
be  easily  Incorporated  into  the  body  of  a program,  in  the 
form  of  comment  blocks.  This  means  that  the  documen- 
tation can  and  should  be  done  back  at  the  design  and 
definition  stage  — before  the  program  is  even  written. 
So,  far  from  being  an  afterthought,  the  documentation 
plays  an  integral  and  useful  part  in  the  development  of 
the  software, 

STANDARDS 

We  are  now  ready  to  define  the  standards  for  our 
documentation.  It  wilt  consist  of  comment  blocks  which 
are  to  precede  the  code  they  describe.  There  should  be  a 
comment  block  for  each  unit  of  code,  plus  one  for  the 
entire  program  or  system. 

In  general,  the  comment  blocks  consist  of  the  follow* 
ing  parts  (some  special  purpose  blocks  may  lack  some, 
but  not  all,  of  these  parts).  Referring  to  Figure  4: 

1)  Block-start  flag 

2)  Name  and  index  description 

3)  Processing  description 

4)  Entry  conditions  list 

5)  Exit  conditions  list 

6)  End-of-block  flag 


(If  ; + + 

{2}  ,$S 

BUBBLE:  SUBROUTINE-BUBBLE  SORT  OF  NUMBERS 

(3)  i 

THIS  SUBROUTINE  WILL  SORT  A TABLE  OF  ONE 
BYTE  NUMBERS  IN  ASCENDING  SEQUENCE. 

(4)  ' 

ENTRY: 

TBLEN  CONTAINS  NUMBER  OF  BYTES  IN  TABLE 
RANGE:  2-127 

TBLADr  CONTAINS  ADDRESS  OF  FIRST  TABLE  BYTE 

(5) 

t 

EXIT: 

WORKl  DESTROYED 

TABLE  HAS  NUMBERS  IN  ASCENDING  ORDER 
EXIT  IS  VIA  SUBROUTINE  RETURN 

mi  

Figure  4.  The  standard  documentation  comment  block 
has  six  parts:  the  start  line  (1),  the  index  line  (2),  the  pro- 
cess description  (3),  the  entry  conditions  list  (4),  the  exit 
conditions  list  (5),  and  the  end  flag  (6)* 

Block-start  Flag: 

In  order  to  identify  the  documentation  blocks  for  easy 
automated  extraction,  the  comment  block  should  always 
begin  with  a line  with  the  start  flag  of 1 + + 1 immediately 
after  the  comment  definition  symbol. 

Name  and  Index  Description: 

This  single  line  gives  the  name  of  the  code  unit  being 
defined,  the  type  of  code,  and  a brief  description  of  the 
purpose  of  the  code.  The  index  identifier  *$S'  at  ttk  tart 
of  the  comment  makes  it  possible  to  automatically  ex* 
tract  this  index  line  to  create  documentation  indexes  to 
the  program  or  system. 

a)  Name  — this  should  be  a unique  name  for  the  unit 
of  code,  if  the  code’s  entry  point  has  a name,  this 
should  be  used. 

b)  Code  type  — the  type  of  code  being  documented 
is  important  to  understanding  how  the  code  works. 
General  types  are: 

1)  System 

2)  Program 

3)  Routine 

INTERFACE  AGE  161 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  TUTORIAL 


4)  Subroutine 

5)  Data 

6)  Other 

c)  Description  — brief  (one  line)  description  of  the 
code's  purpose  , . . what  the  code  does,  not  how. 

Processing  Description: 

The  processing  description  should  indicate  what  the 
code  does  in  genera!  terms  without  getting  bogged 
down  in  how  that  processing  is  actually  performed.  The 
code  itself  should  tell  how  the  processing  is  done,  and  if 
it  doesn't,  additional  comments  should  be  added  out- 
side the  documentation  block.  The  emphasis  in  docu- 
mentation should  be  on  function,  not  logic.  If  the  pro- 
gram has  been  sufficiently  broken  down  into  smalt 
enough  units,  the  processing  logic  should  be  relatively 
clear.  What  might  not  be  clear  is  why  the  program  uses 
that  logic  — that  is,  its  function* 

Entry  Conditions: 

Ail  the  necessary  entry  conditions  for  the  block 
should  be  specified: 

a)  All  data  inputs  along  with  any  restrictions  on  types, 
ranges,  etc. 

b)  Any  special  entry  requirements  or  flags. 

c)  Method  of  entry  into  the  code. 

d)  Resource  requirements  — memory,  I/O,  etc* 

The  more  exhaustive  the  list,  the  better. 

Exit  Conditions: 

Ail  intentional  and  unintentional  exit  conditions 
should  be  specified  for  each  possible  exit: 

a)  Result  of  the  processing 

b}  Data  outputs,  including  range  and  types. 

c)  Resources  used-up  — memory,  tape,  paper,  etc* 

d)  Side  effects  — registers  or  work  areas  destroyed, 
condition  codes  modified,  etc. 

e)  Exit  technique  and  type* 

End-of-bfock  Flag: 

The  comment  block  should  end  with  a comment  be- 
ginning with  the  end  of  block  flag  ’-'*  In  addition  to  the 
above  standard  comment  block,  several  special  purpose 
comment  blocks  suggest  themselves: 

1)  A Conventions  Block  containing  system  conven- 
tions such  as  register  usage,  standard  data  fields, 
data  passing  protocol,  etc.  would  simplify  the  docu- 
mentation process  even  more  by  limiting  repetition. 

2)  A Data  Structure  Block  could  contain  much  useful 
information  as  to  table  structure,  data  usage,  range 
limitations,  etc. 

All  such  special  comment  blocks  should  contain  at 
least  the  block  start  and  end  flags  and  the  index  line  if 
they  are  to  become  part  of  the  formal  documentation* 

DOCUMENTATION  USAGE 

No  documentation  is  any  good  if  it  canTt  bemused.  The 
documentation  defined  here  should  see  heavy  use,  how- 
ever. It  can  be  used  to  get  an  understanding  of  the  func- 
tion of  a program  or  system.  By  analyzing  the  inputs  and 
outputs,  the  interface  to  the  external  world  can  be 
studied.  The  program  itself  becomes  clearer  when  an 
English  language  description  of  what  it  is  doing  can  be 
compared  to  the  program  translation  directly.  And  the 
comment  block  approach  allows  the  reader  to  absorb 
the  program  logic  in  small,  easily  understood  dosages. 

But  the  documentation  described  does  more  than  pro- 
vide useful  information  on  the  functioning  of  the  pro- 
grams it  documents.  If  it  is  done  at  the  time  of  program 


design*  It  aids  the  programmer/designer  in  doing  top 
down  design  usiVig  small  blocks  of  code.  Starting  at  the 
highest  levels  of  the  program,  the  programmer  need  only 
ensure  that  the  main  line  code  sets  up  the  necessary  in- 
puts and  retrieves  the  correct  outputs  as  each  subroutine 
or  subfunction  is  encountered.  In  this  way,  the  designer 
can  follow  one  train  of  thought  to  its  natural  end  while 
being  sure  that  no  details  will  be  forgotten  concerning 
the  subfunctions  used  by  the  higher  level  functions. 

That  is  not  all.  Once  coded,  programs  may  be  inf ormaiiy 
■’proven’'  to  perform  the  desired  function  correctly*  This 
is  done  by  analyzing  each  unit  of  code  and  verifying  that 
the  inputs  required  are  always  present  on  entry,  that  the 
processing  described  really  is  the  processing  done,  and 
that  the  outputs  really  are  as  advertised*  with  no  sur- 
prises. If  this  is  done,  and  a check  is  made  that  the  side- 
effects  of  the  unit  of  code  do  not  disrupt  higher  level  units 
of  code  using  the  code  being  checked,  then  it  is  quite 
possible  that  the  program  will  run  correctly  the  first 
time*  Further,  this  method  of  check-out  can  often  find 
bugs  which  only  massive  amounts  of  testing  would  un- 
cover—-that  is,  bugs  which  would  normally  show  up  tong 
after  the  program  was  in  use  and  presumably  “bug  free.” 

Even  the  testing  and  debugging  are  easier  using  this 
form  of  in-program  documentation*  Each  unit  of  code 
can  be  checked  out  by  feeding  it  inputs  as  defined  in  the 
documentation  and  verifying  that  the  outputs  generated 
are  correct.  Debugging  is  easier  too  since  problems  can 
be  quickly  traced  to  the  specific  unit  of  code  doing  the 
erroneous  processing  by  means  of  the  index  lines  de- 
scribing the  various  functions. 

For  much  the  same  reason,  program  modifications 
are  much  easier  because  code  performing  specific 
tasks  can  be  easily  identified  via  the  comment  block. 
Changes  can  then  be  made  by  modifying— or  even  re- 
placing—that  unit  of  code  while  maintaining  the  same 
inputs,  outputs*  and  side-effects  as  the  original  code. 
This  can  dramatically  reduce  the  need  for  ’‘chain- 
reaction”  type  modifications,  where  one  change  leads 

to  another  in  almost  limitless  fashion* 

The  usefulness  of  the  documentation  isn  t limited  to 

the  original  or  succeeding  programmers,  however. 
Because  of  the  special  flags  used*  comment  blocks  are 
easily  spotted  and  copied  (but  never  uprooted!)  auto- 
matically to  be  placed  in  other  useful  data  organiza- 
tions, In  a library  of  programs,  an  index  consisting  of  the 
index  lines  of  the  program-level  comment  blocks  would 
allow  the  browser  to  quickly  find  a program  of  interest, 
while  the  comment  blocks  themselves  provide  informa- 
tion in  increasing  levels  of  detail  as  that  detail  is 
desired.  In  another  organization,  the  comment  blocks 
could  serve  as  an  indexed  guide  to  a valuable  resource: 
previously  coded  routines  and  subroutines  performing  a 
wide  variety  of  tasks*  By  merely  matching  up  inputs  and 
outputs*  these  coded  and  tested  routines  could  easily  be 
used  to  produce  new  software  in  record  time.  Just  think, 
the  wheel  wouldn’t  need  reinventing  ever  againlD 

REFERENCES  ~~  ” ~ ~ ~~ 

HIPO  — A Design  Aid  and  Documentation  Techniquey  IBM 

GC20-1851-D,  IBM,  1974*  White  Plains,  New  York. 

RSX11M  MACRO-11  Reference  Manual,  DEC-11 -OMNI A A-A-D, 

DEC,  1974,  Maynard,  Massachusetts, 

ABOUT  THE  AUTHOR 

Tom  Fay  is  a programmer  anatyst  for  the  National 
Semiconductor  Corporationt  where  he  works  on  the 
Datachecker  point  of  safe  system * He  holds  an  MS  in 
mathematics  from  the  University  of  Michigan  and  a BAt 
also  in  mathematics t from  Kalamazoo  College. 


162  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


COflPOflATJON 

Quality  Ehrtronir  Cntupttnents 


(♦C.'S  * RESISTORS  • TRANSISTORS  • CAPACITORS  • DIODES  - IX.  SOCKETS  1 PINS  . SWITCHES 
CLOCK  MODULES  4 OPTOELECTRONICS  * DREADPOAULNG  * TESTING  DEVICES  * DRAFTING  SUPPLIES 
DATA  BOOKS  » HEAT  SINKS  i WIRE  4 TOOLS  . . . AND  MORE  , . * WRITE  FOR  FREE  CATALOG  . 


INTEGRATED  CIRCUITS 


BiaTicp  Graphics  5--**- 


LF357N  1,70 
LFT574I  .71 A 
LM30IAH  it 
LW307H  64 
LW308H  1.00 
LM3D9*:  1 .HD 

I.  '.-.j ' 1 N .TO 

Emott  2 mi 

LM317MP  1 .TO 
LM31BH  2.70 
LM320MP-5  1.30 
LM320MP-6  1.30 
LM52QMPJ  1.30 
LM320MP-9  1 30 
LMWQMMT1.M 
LMTJflWP.l  S 1 .30 
LMJ20MP4S1,M 
LW3MWP-1S1.S0 
LdttJOWAM  1.30 
LM323K  7.50 
LM374H  .73 
LM325N  2.70 
LM326H  2.70 
LWJ37H  770 
LM339N  1.15 
LWSfl0T*S  1.25 
LWJ40t^  1.25 
IM34QT-0  1 75 
LMJ4QM6  1.75 
lWUOT-13  125 
LMH0M.5  1.25 
LM14QT-1B  1.25' 
LiYlUOT-74  1.25 
W p M ,90 
LPAMip-t  .to 
LM341P-8  06 

LWUlP.rO  OB 
LM34IM2  .06 
LW34IP-rS  .OB 
LM34IP-TS  .06 
LM34  SP-24  ,00 

LM3J0N  1 .40 
LM3J0U  1.60 

LM350H  .7? 
I-UUION  .84 
LM1S0OH  *U 
IMIBOIN  170 
LMIS12N  4 00 
IM103ON  1 .30 
iMIfigON  7.00 
iMJl  1 IN  25 
IWIK07M  .50 
IM991 7H  50 
HM3059N  l.M 
: v-wi.fi  38 
IM3TO0M  .« 
LMJ9EJ$H  1 JO 
L.M3WHJH  49 
IW3TISM  1.50 
MOA56V  1 .00 
WCI453V  53 
MOWN  .70 
MC5302P  I IS; 
HE516T  3.50 
NE540L  7,04 
NE5S5V 

NHJifi  33 
HI554M  2.40 
HL55PM  3,40 
NLSbOB  3.50 
N656IB  3.50 

\mm  3.» 

MUbSA  1.35 
NE5 66V  1,33 

l.i* 

UA7090V  44 

UA7XFCA  .44 
UA7T1CA  .53 
UA723CA  .40 
HA733C*  75 

UA741CY  .44 
Ua?a7CA  70 
UA748CV  .40 
UA7M5CU  1.25 
UA7B04OI  1,25 
. UA7BOSUJ  1.25 
UA70I2OJ  1.35 
UA7012OJ  1-35 
I 1/A701 507  1 15 

UA7BI.RtU  17S 
UA7624CLI  1.25 
UA701DSACJ  ■«? 
UATOiCUACZ  ,40 
JU7P9AC7  M 
UA70linAC2  .40 
UA70L1JAC7  .40 
UA?0U$AC7  .40 
UA7-3L1&ACZ  .40 
UAJ8L24ACZ  .40 
UA7905CU  1 .70 
UA7TO6CU  1 .70 
UA7TO6CLI  1 ,70 
UAJ9D9CU  1 .70 
UA79I2CU  1.70 
UA79ISCU  1,70 
UA?91ftCU  1 70 
UAJ624CL7  170 


74153*1 
J4L33M. 
7415773 
7JL5779 
74L57B3 
7415283 
7415791 
7415795 
7415298 
7415365 
7415366 
7415367 
74I536B 
7415377 
74153 BA 
7415395 
7415670 
6 11595 
011596 
011507 
BH59E 


PATIH1FD  CHBOMAflLTlft  SCEftM,  M CAST  METAL  FRAME 
WOOHFS  IH  PANE15  UP  10  1/1  A'-  THIOL . NO  UP05E0 
HARDWARE,  SCRATCH  RESISTANT  AND  EX5I4V  CLEANED 
EUMHWTB  GLARE. 

MOUNTING  ADAPTERS  AvAlIaALE  TO  UMftVT  MOUNTING 
AMD  ASSURE  PfUFECT  AliGMMEMT 

«0  BEZEl  WITH  RED  FILTER 4.95 

430  MOUNTING  ADAPTER  FOR  MA10QI  & MA I CGI  .49 

4J1MPIJNTIN&  ADAPTER  FOR  MAlQlQ 69 


VALUE 

.47  50V 
I '50V. 
23/ 50V. 
3. 3 ‘50V. 
4.7  /35V . . 
4 7,50V 
10,16V 
1 0,35V 
ID  15V 

ro.yjv  . . 

22/1 6 V 
T)  v5v 
2J/3SV  . . 
22, '50V  . 
33'IAV 
3135V 
13  35V 
33-50V  . . 
47,10  V 
47.1 6V  . . 
47 /25  V 
47,15V  . 
45,'WV  ■ 
UK  1 ■:■  v 
IW  ir.v 
(OOJSV 
10015V  . 
100, '50V 
270,' I OV  . 
220,1 6V 

ns  ify 

3?;,  35V 
/3(f.:.uV  . 
350/bV  . . 
33D10V  . 
130.16V  . 

im 

33015V  . 

aas/sou  . 

470,' tV  ■ ■ 
47010V  . 
470/ 1 bV  ■ 
tiSHV 
470,15V 
470109  . 

laoo.-tv  . 
1000,' 10  V 
19QO/10V 
lwso  -j:.v 
1 ooa/35 v 

32tJ0/fiV  . 
23001 QV 

mat  ltv. 


13  JVC 
>513* 
2J70/C 
■■ 

31  .M.'C 
44  45 'C 
15,13/C 
23JQFC 
W,W€ 
31. 6B/C 
34V9.'C 
55.00/C 


1 1 DQ/C 

1 1157420  12V 
1H5743B  I 3 V 
IN5244B  UV 
INS74S0  15V 
IH59460  r«v 
PN52476  T7V 
IN524B0  LAV 
1M52490  1 9V 
INS250B  20V 
INS95FB  72V 

1 >12 520  74V 
LN5753R  2iV 
INS754B  27  V 
1N5J55B  2BV 
1N5256B  30V 
LNS357B  33V 


2.56  1/4  Kim  99, 'C 

31*  1/3 SCREW.  . . .99/C 
■MO  1 .‘4  SCfitw  . 55, C 
410  1 1 SCBTW . . . .bO/t 
6-33  1 .'4  SCREW . . . .65, 'C 
4,-33  1 V SCREW . . . 75/C 
0-33  3.4  SCREW . Mi C 

0 32  54  SCREW  . . 99/C 
216  HEX  NUT  . . . 55, C 

44Q  MfX  NUT  . 5.5, t 

6-32  HEX  NUT flft'C 

B-33  HEX  NUI  , . 60/C 

NO  2 LOCK  WASHER  .85, 'C 
MO  A IGOLWA5NER  .43  C 
NO  t iOOCWASMER  ,4j/C 
NO  & HKXWA5HER  .45  C 


1N5326B  3.1V 
1N5737B  3.6V 
IN5220B  3,9V 
1N5329&  4.3V 
IN  5330*1  4.7V 
IN 5711*  5, TV 
1N5233B  5.6V 
IN 523 3D  6.0V 
1NS3MB  6 2V 
1N52150  6 BV 
1NS236I  71V 
IRS3376  B.2V 
iN573aft  8.7V 
I M5219B  9.1V 
lN5230fi  10V 
IN 52 4 1 A UV 


7JCD0  23 


CA3046  .75 
£ A 3086  10 
LF151N 
LF3S6H  VM 


& PlM  SOLDER. 
14  PUT  50LDFV 
16  PJM  SOLDER 
IB  PIN  WIDER 
70  PIN  SOLDER 
32  PIN  501DFR 
74  PIN  SOLOES 
3B  pin  wider 
4*  PIN  SOLOES ■ 
t PIN  W-W  . . 

1 4 PlM  W-W 
16  PMf  WfW 
16  PIN  W.W,  . 
TDPrw  W.W.  . 
22  PIN  W-W. 

24  PIN  W-W. 

38  PIN  W-W  . 
AD  pm  W-W 


1IMW1  Ml  ID  Sio.'t  549/M 
1N4KJ2  66/10  5.6D/C  551  M 
IN4003  .60/10  5.60/t  S52./M 
1N4DOJ  7D/ID  5.95/C  154/M 
INiCOS  .07/ 1 Q T.D5/C  563, M 
1NAOM  .TO,' IQ  7.75/C  !6V  M 
1H4007  99/ ID  0.60/  C 577/ M 

IN  41 40  .40/10  310/C  529/M 


Qrjorf  Acsvprnd  by  PKafio  or  Mali 


WoitofChorgi'  » BanL  - Amur  i*  qrd  * COD 
P.Q.  Baa  677,  Thfol  Rlwor  >F«lls,,  Minn.  5671)1 


CORPORATION 

Quality  Ekrtronic  Components 

P.O.  Box  t?7  ' Thief  River  foil*,  MN  56705  {2V&}  681^1 


5 j 5/50  n.50>C| 


MINNESOTA  RESIDENTS  218-68 1-6674 


DON’T  FORGET  OUR 
DISCOUNTS  WHEN  COMPARING  PRICES 


LED  DIGITS  AND  LAMPS 


c.  loans 


FREE  CATALOG 


MOLEX  LC,  SOCKET  PIN5 


VOLT  DU 


12// 1 -800-346-5 1 44 


■3 

B 

I 74I9S 

1 ,49 

Bl 

■ 

74L99 

1,49 

;4oo 
741)1 
740? 
7403 
?4W 
7«i 
1 7406 

31 

.21 

.21 

in 

71 

■i 

.35 

74221 

74351 

74279 

7J798 

74365 

74566 

74367 

■PA 

1.09 

JS 

.94 

.67 

.67 

.67 

i 7407 

2:- 

74163 

7JQE 

71 

7409 

Jt 

7410 

-21 

741500 

74|l 

.31 

741501 

■78 

7412 

21 

74(502 

.38 

741) 

.35 

74L5C'3 

■3B 

7414 

89 

74L504 

.29 

7414 

2^ 

74®S 

39 

7417 

r: 

74L50 

.29 

7430 

.21 

7AL509 

.79 

7421 

S 

J4L510 

,38 

7433 

35 

?4lSll 

7435 

74  LSI  3 

n 1 

i 7476 

7E 

741513 

742? 

741514 

1.03 

7425 

.28 

741515 

.28 

7430 

-31 

74U70 

.28 

7432 

741521 

-38 

7433 

3: 

74(522 

26 

7437 

36 

741526 

-13 

7438 

-25 

7*1527 

33 

7439 

5D 

741528 

22 

?44T, 

21 

74(510 

-38 

, 744? 

53 

74L553 

.13 

7445 

70 

74L533 

33 

, 744t 

.=  /: 

74L5J7 

.13 

! >447 

70 

74(528 

22 

i 7440 

70 

7AL540 

.7S 

74K? 

21 

7*1543 

hi 

7451 

Jl 

74L5A7 

.79 

, 7453 

r. 

74(540 

1 7454 

71 

7AtiSS 

1 7460 

21 

74(5,5* 

38 

1 7470 

3D 

74L55S 

.28 

1 7J7? 

.3D 

74(533 

.39 

1 7473 

00 

741574 

.39 

1 7 47 4 

JD 

74(574 

49 

1 7475 

.49 

74(575 

S3 

l 7A76 

J3 

74(570 

49 

1 J40D 

.70 

74(578 

.39 

1 7463 

.?a 

74(585 

79 

1 7JR5 

89 

74(585 

.49 

' 7466 

.28 

74(586 

,39 

I 7469 

2.19 

74  (5W 

57 

1 7491 

.44 

74159? 

,S7 

1 7991 

.70 

7 415V 3 

4? 

1 7493 

44 

74(595 

1 749J 

44 

74(506 

.ta 

1 7 A 94 

.70 

74(5107 

49 

1 7495 

70 

7115109 

.39 

1 7*90 

70 

7415112 

.39 

1 ruin  1 75 

74(5113 

.39 

741Q7 

30 

74(51 14 

.39 

741 09 

23 

7415125 

.49 

7A1I61  26 

74181 » 

,49 

74121 

'15 

240538 

.81- 

7J177 

44 

7415126 

49 

74121 

61 

7415138 

73 

74135 

4*? 

74(5139 

73 

74126 

.40 

74(5151 

.75 

7A13& 

.48 

7 4(5153 

,75 

74132 

.70 

74(5154 

1.10 

74141 

n 

74(5155 

75 

74IJ5 

a 

7415156 

75 

741 J7  163 

74(5157 

.75 

74148  130 

7415158 

.75 

74150  1,16 

74(5160  l.M  1 

74151 

70 

74(5161 

1.02 

7*153 

65 

74(5163  1,02 

74154  1.03 

74(5164 

1 iV.’ 

1 74155 

.70 

74(5168  l.M 

. 74156 

70 

74(5169  l.M 

1 74157 

70 

74(5170  1.72 

1 74160 

F8 

74(5173  1 34 

1 74101 

BE.  ' 

74(54  74 

l.Ofc 

1 7*162 

GS 

74(5175 

.64 

1 74103 

Ga 

74L5101 

250 

1 /JlfcA 

9b 

74(5190  1.18 

1 74160  MS 

74(5191 

MS 

1 74106  |.15 

74(5192 

.90 

1 741 7D  264 

74(5193 

,54 

1 74174 

■9S 

■•■'. 

1 74175 

74(5195 

.» 

1 7*17* 

./'■ 

• ■' 

M 

1 7*177 

/■f 

74(5197 

.86 

| 741 8D 

7415197 

.86 

i 7*1  CO 

7415JJ]  1.0b 

i 7J18L  2.15 

7415240  1 .90 

1 74183 

79 

7415241 

1.90 

1 74184  3.15 

7415743  1 .70 

1 761 « 2-19 

7415242  1 70 

1 74109  35(1 

3415744- 1 .70 

1 74190  1.33 

7415347 

79 

1 74191 

1 J3 

74L5748 

.79 

1 74199 

:lS 

74(5249 

79 

1 7JS9J 

MS 

7415251 

B4 

1 J4194 

l:E 

7415252 

.64 

74195 

88 

7415257 

:■? 

7419ft 

tft 

74(5358 

75 

.08 

74(5260 

34 

BD9J 

40 

BD94 

j‘. 

0095 

*7 

BOW 

67 

1097 

.67 

op 

67 

75450 

.BE 

75451 

br 

75452 

.61 

754  ftl 

61 

75454 

61 

75491 

41 

754  V2 

.04 

75W3 

1.09 

7 5494 

1 16 

MC148SN 

.90 

MCI489N 

.TO 

ONE 

EACH  eaSQA.  0^12,  0224  and  %m  PLUS 
SIXTEEN  TIQZ'Vs  — ALL  FOR 

$49.95 

MICROPROCESSORS 

Sesf  Values  Yet! 

BCflOA 

B-BrT  CPU.  J M SIC  even 

SI295 

6217 

8-81 T I/O  PORT 

t 3 95 

B?lb 

Bi-DIAECTIONAI  BUS  DRIVER 

% A 75 

072A 

CLOCK  OfNfK  Alflfl 

5 3 93 

0J2G 

STSTEWI  CONTROLLER 

S 6.93 

B25f 

COMMUNICAIICNS  IN  If  PEACE 

117  95 

6255 

PERIPHERAL  iNrEftFACE 

SU  95 

1702A 

3K  EPPOY  ( 256"  8/ . 

5 e.95 

2708 

0h  FPROY  IIK161 

579.S0 

21021 

U RAM  KW  NS 

1 1 79 

SCtfP 

5 VOLT  5C/MP  CPU 

5 V 95 

2650 

MICHOmOCLSSW  1.25  MH-J  ClOCK  40  OIL 

124.95 

WIRE  WRAPPING  WIRE  IN  BULK 

1*8  v lltefc  36  ft-  «V^r 

10fl'  52,00  500  *0.50  t000‘  IttM 

5%  CARSON  FILM  RESISTORS 

i 

' 5.4TC 

11 

TOTO 

' 5.41. C 

11 

.TOIO 

5.4  L/C 

.12 

.TO/Tit 

' 5.8  K/C 

12 

1.0010 

' wuc 

.17 

95  TO 

5.75, C 

17 

1 DPT* 

■ 5,81/C 

ir 

TO'19 

' 5.66,'C 

12 

I.O0--T* 

6IJC 

13 

1.10/10 

6.5B/C 

.14 

I.LSTtt 

' 5,66/C 

17 

1.&0/F0 

ArH?r 

13 

1.0510 

7.79.C 

15 

1.19  TO 

' BAB/C 

17 

1 .32,10 

' 6.90, 'C 

12 

1 ,00-10 

7.S0/C 

14 

1 15/ro 

' 9,65/C 

17 

134. 16 

i 10.4  L/C 

.1? 

1.52/FO 

l 6.SJ/C 

11 

1-0  A/TO 

i 7.47/C 

.14 

1.1 5/ 111 

' 9.bS/C 

.17 

t ,30,10 

' T0.4K 

19 

l.st.'to 

i n.it/c 

M 

Tjr.ro 

6.59/C 

,18 

1 .13/(0 

7.7B/C 

.17 

1,30/30 

i 9,1  S/C 

.20 

1 iS,1 0 

' ) L.05/C 

.25 

i.93/ro 

i 18, 55/C 

79 

2.J0/TD 

i 9.13/C 

.18 

L.42/ro  1 

i 9.6/, -C 

?0 

1 .55  TO 

' M.55/C 

2'J 

2J5.'ia 

i 17.26/C 

25 

2 79 TO  : 

i 19.96/C 

40 

3.23/10  : 

i 9.5D/C 

.T9 

1. 48, '10 

l 98J,C 

71 

7 -64  T 0 

i 18  14/C 

11 

?.8S'io : 

1 1 5, 79iC 

.Hi 

3.07/10 

l 28  56/C 

.43 

3.43/10 

i 39.73  'C 

w 

4.01/10  ' 

I 11.16  C 

.20 

T ,64/10 

1 M.S5/C 

.31 

2.4  5/1 0 1 

1 15.39/C 

33 

2.60/10  1 

19  90/C 

■1! 

3-43/10  : 

1 30-76/C 

47 

3 7fl,ni  ; 

r 39.73/0 

■:S 

6.03/IQ  : 

l 10.50/C 

.35 

2J0IQ  1 

I6.6J/C 

.30  3.07/100  1 

L 19  96-C 

.43 

3 .43/10  ; 

JJi  V ( 

6R 

5 42,10  ; 

\ 44.45,'C 

.75 

6.03/10  1 

r 76.41/C 

.43 

3.43  10  , 

1 78.?7  ,-C 

■6D 

4 8110 

i 36  iS'C 

bB 

5.42.10  1 

MPS91R 

Ifi 

1-55/10 

(J.6P.C 

1 30.00,'  M 

MP5930.  . . . 

16 

T .55/10 

13.60/C 

1TO.00/M 

MP52222A 

16 

1.55/ ID 

13.60/C 

1 30.00, 'M 

MPS2369A 

. 16 

r. 55/10 

13.60/C 

1 30.00  rv. 

MPS7TO7A  . 

....  .16 

us m 

13.60/C 

750.OO/M 

MP53J93  . . . 

. . .16 

t-SS/10 

13.60/C 

i j j v 

MFJ3J93 

16 

1.55, '10 

15,60/C 

> 30.00/M 

M(^33V4 

lb 

1.55/10 

13.60,  C 

(3000/ M 

MP53395 

. . . . .lb 

T -55.1 0 

L3.b0/C 

130.00/M 

MP535A3 , 

16 

f 55/10 

13.60/C 

13Q.D0/M 

MP53W5 

......  .10 

1.55/10 

13.60/C 

1 SJ.OO.'M 

MP53638A .... 

16 

I55'ia 

13. 60/C 

1 30.00, 'M 

MP53640 ...  . 

16 

U5/10 

13.60/C 

150.00/M 

MP53641  . . . 

165/10 

13.60/C 

130,00/M 

MPS364J 

16 

l 55/10 

13.60/C 

13Q.W/M 

2N39Q8 

10 

155/10 

13.60/C 

130.00/M 

2MJ9Q6  .... 

16 

155,10 

13.40/C 

150.00/M 

2H4124  . . L 

16 

155/10 

13.60/C 

130.00/M 

2M126 , 

,16 

155/10 

13.60/C 

130.00/M 

9H44Tji 

. .lb 

155/10 

13.60/C 

130.C0/M 

2N64D3 

lb 

155/10 

13,  AO/C 

130.C0/M 

7NA4I0 

16 

155/10 

13.60/C 

1 30.00,'  M 

2NSOBJ  .... 

,16 

155/10 

13.60/C 

l V,  •.>  ' M 

WSW ...... 

16 

1 55/10 

13.60/C 

130.00/M 

3N5210  . , 

16 

155/1 0 

1 3.60,'C 

130.00/M 

2N305S . ... 

99 

9.20/10 

B5.00/C 

600,00/M 

MPfl02 

36 

3.35/10 

30.60/C 

300.00/M 

2N5457  

40 

4.50/10 

4T.OO/C 

800JQ7M 

MPSA13 

.,,  .W 

2.60/10 

2A.00/C 

MJ2953 

...... .99 

9 /Ci  1 0 

05.00/C 

■ '.■ 

llPI» 

99 

9.20/10 

0 SJM/C 

000.00/ M 

TTUXrl'SWP 

54  .DO 

vmEAP  I.C-'I  953  p 

J5.00 

CMD5  ?4C  555  P 

S3.DQ 

POWER  TtAJ4Sl5T0R5.  t SI  F 

53.CC 

MEMORr  I.C-4  STOP 

S3.00 

M0S  LSI  I.C  's,  P 

U. 00 

rNTIHFACI  I.C.rt  464  P 

5 A ,00 

V0L1AGI  RIGL.C'i  IMP.  . 

, $3.00 

LINEAR  AP  1 432  P.  . 

p 

UMIAR  AP  II  246  P. 

.....  $3,00 

AUDIO  HANDBOOK  194 P. 

$3.00 

FECIAL  f UNCTION 

. • $3.00 

SCMP  APPLICATIONS  . . 

$5.00 

BCtBOA  0ISION  . 

55.00 

rrr  dataoqqr 

$3.00 

CMOS  4000  270  p 

$3  £1D 

ANALOG  MANUAL  617  P. 

$5.95 

Mil 

APRIL  1 978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  83 


INTERFACE  AGE  163 


COMPU/TIME 
CT  100 


COMPU/TIME  offers 

ft 

Real  Darn  Clever 
Enhancement  to  users  of 
IMSAI/ALTA1R 

Micfnprocessors 


si oo  bus  compatible 

TIME  & CALENDAR 

COMPU/TIME  CT  100  *199  Kii  *245  Assembled 

CQMPUonfy  C101  *149  Kn  *109  Assembled 

TIME  only  T102  *165  Kit  $205  Assembled 

COMPU/TIME  PC  Board  tmly  $ 00 


MM16  EPROM 

* dinging  up  lo  15  27Q&  EPROMS 

* S-'Ofl  Bus  Computer  Systems 

* Memory  cikptict’r  ql  8K  £K  IfiK  bytes  Gy  DIP 

* 8K  boundary  addressing  by  Dtp  Svwich  Cr\  fv  f\f\ 

* 0 tb  J ajiI  Cycles  by  DIP  Switch  ^ ■ \/ \/ 

* Dalfl  output  address  -m>v<  mhos  luily  buttered 

* Hi 'grade  glass-epoxy  *«ir>  plated  thru  holes 

* Epo*y  solder  mathed 


CHANNEL!  F 

m*  $129.95 


04i'  t*  tic  toa  Shoa'iHiy  uiatry  fliii  ypiin**1  - ^m1' 
■oaom  ^gpijK  Dcriow  dflia  mjch 

MU  Dilart  rot  irtMH ng  &iK4*>  icen&yi*i 


■A  flpfflri  tl  fl1  ' pUftili 
Iff  llrIQ  ftflB  M nr  7 (Urn i't 
M,t]  UUti?0jy<n 
am  KttkfiJii  <1  pti+r,. 


D-SUB  CONNECTORS 


1 FINS 

PART  NO 

PRICE 

COYER  PRICE 

y 

DE  9P 

1 49 

1 ?fi 

9 

DE9S 

2.15 

IS 

DA  15P 

3 1 1 

1 5(J 

TS 

DA  15S 

3.10 

25 

DB-75P 

3 00 

\M 

35 

DB  25$ 

4 00 

37 

OE  37P 

4.14 

2.00 

37 

DE  37S 

G 00 

50 

DP  SOP 

5 40 

2 25 

50 

DU  SOS 

eoo 

EDGE  CONNECTORS 

T Ti>  E 


70 

Dv*l 

to 

PM 

GCLi 

\ SO 

10 

DUAL 

Pm 

Pin 

001 0 

, ?5 

44 

Oval 

21 

r»M 

&mr 

l 55 

Ai 

DUAL 

it 

Pin 

GOLD 

? - 50 

SO 

DUAL 

40 

PIN 

GOLD 

* Si 

S6 

OVAL 

*1 

PIN 

POlflffi&OOl 

5. 00 

k QO 

OVAL 

50 

Pitt 

CQlGUH&AI/ALtAJN 

4 75 

too 

opal 

50 

tin 

COLPUMSIl/AUAim 

4 S5 

I OP 

OUAL 

50 

PIN 

PGLDfNO  -LAffS  - 1HSAI 

} .50 

IPO 

DUAL 

so 

PIN 

t|N  ( .1  SPACING) 

3 ?S 

.TAlff* 

MNSAP 

CARD 

guides 

!S(  tACH 

CLOCK  CHIPS 

HUW M 

A BCD  Qmip>ju  Rwi  Ph 

19  W 

UMUll 

eafli  BCDOjIpJi  17  cm  ?J  Mmi1 

4<n 

UMUd 

1 Difia  SCO  DlA?lC  1 PPS  DilTfiLlt 

* ffS 

MMUI* 

F H..;fi  17&fj4»nuF  » Pi  60  rij 

* ft 

VUJiH 

4 0 v*  Aurm  '■  PP$  QvH>ul 

kH 

JUUiB 

14*>  QrtiCn*  ta<  u«  wf»,mmmmi  iaa)i 

9U 

CTTOOl 

tCKfii  C#*w  kwm  17v74Mfl3r 

Wit*  w»(i 

10 

1 74 

' PO  Wl 

IN 

M 

36 

1? 

26 

H 

34 

33 

31 

l& 

36 

34 

37 

3d 

11 

1 

Ad 

b* 

40 

70 

M 

Jb 

6f 

ss 

27 

9S 

n 

7 7 

» 

74 

9) 

m 

71 

H 

n 

9> 

s* 

U 

71 

36 

1 46 

■ 75 

i oe 

A3 

40 

t Si 

1 *0 

1 70 

is 

1 C SOCKETS 

La  Pr  □ 1 1 ift- So  104*  Tin 
174  lift  100  999  IK  A UD 

E fll 

15 

14 

ti 

1? 

041 

75 

70 

>6 

14 

tlftt 

25 

70 

16 

id 

not 

n 

n 

4301 

3* 

m 

N 

m 

!Z3> 

36 

34 

174) 

16 

jb 

jJ 

<7i] 

jj 

ji 

At 

J61 

WO] 

60 

u 

493 

74LS00 


AjlLSi« 

t*L  5 103 

MLSils 
MtSlW 
l k,  MlSIB? 

1 JS  MIH40 
I js  7413341 
Jfl*  >41  S3*? 


i ma  twratrmmmwf  rmtf/ 

F true  AcIksi'  - Sc*«  OphQf 
AuttjnlihL  timt  jnd  St  DN«*i«pinu 
Sinth  rte  At  (ipCEihon 

Puil  canUdli  nyflJi  a-»jy  idfifi 
Suill  M Pro  hocipy  jnd  tenn.i  gjmt* 
i jSy  ■hupr  ud  er*  fl  W or  ColfH  Tv 
Fjflory  warranty  


F-H  E0I3SN  I » 
} at  SB&  7 M 
raiSSS  « 
MiSSO  mi 
MlSM  fci 
a l.  5-J  3 99 

IfUM  I » 
MIS*  ■ N 
MlSlDr  J* 
MCSUM  50 

man?  so 

Htsna  w 

JaLSna  to 
Mi  si  37  .en 
MIS153  1 35 
H151J4  IM> 
MLSlTfi  B7 
Mi3l?G  1 07 
HLSlaj  i.» 
MIS  1 JO  Y2 


CMOS 


WPlCIffl*  I T 
WMMUttbN  IS 
umr*c?!!fV( 
'xwimvi  7* 


MW14C4M  3 13 

vuhcpJS.  *i 
M'rjjcn1,  ]j 
UMJ4CfH*i  li 
mupjouh  j«i 
MVrJCiiiJf  3 eh 
UMFqcitriff  w 
rqLH'l^  E 3 b 
rjwrifju*  l 3} 
MMratyni  i j? 
w«rif.vbM  iti 
WlfClOlh  i fly 

«yr*d>m  est 
i*Uf«3  5ll 

'.'V  U£  qvihd  441 

MWratlilH  7*D 

MV  340  'ftcirj  I J t 
MMP4CP&1H  i J- 
MMJ4C10W  3 ST 
uvnciw  i ti 

MM  f-iij  i in  13  n <£,  1 


MM  r*FSiN1»  4 Ilf 

MwrttBjjN  Sts 
M^TIDTJS.'H  I7W 


|.»J£1IA*I  15 

LM.KUM 
L M.on IF  ? «) 
IMJD.'ll  5-, 

LUM3H1  35 

l M'SlfltH  J 35 

|,WJ£lflft«f  3 DO 

LMWBH  H)fl 

LMJUtn  100 
LM3ldril  I 14 

L M.I1I3F.  j tM 

LMJIII3  7 00 
t-MJIII-t  -H3 

UwiJmN  fill 

iMHik  Hi  1 

iM71?n  7 to 

iMjlffH  1 5tl 

C.An3llSM  1 40 

LM2ISN  i 

LM  33 1 II  lOfl 

1 -M  .i/JlM  I LNI 

LM.i3*rj  ■ blf 

1-  M 3J049  J DO 

tMHWIi  SO 

lm:hbm  is5 

I U 35(jrj  1 tw 

lUjsfiN  1 m 

L M3  IBM  l rS 

I.M^JQM  J ?fi 

LMJTjn  7'JS. 

LanirsM  im 

lm:h3  rN  L'  00 

LWruiflN  1 05 

I.MWiJN  1 ns 

LMJUHlh  1 05 

LMOOlU  I 7b 

LW3HJU  < 7b 

L.M3S0M  Bli 

3h 

LMMKn  !rt 

UU3BB«|  I 74 

tMSSW  I 75 

HE5.3lT.V7m 
Cessna  p in 

Nissso  m 

rosue  1 74 

Ml  5009  5 00 

NIMI7Q  54kj 

NtlifibB  I bO 

Nl'JlhB  3 DO 

HIMif-ul  ID 
HlSfifV  I-S9 


LINEAR 


LM^GJir,  4$ 
LMnpicrr  45 
4.4l3(OICPr  dpj 
LMIIOCM 
wruft  is 

1 W|M  I1_M  vn 
im;ik:n  h 
LM3JJCH  45 
LM1JJCM  45 
LMTTKM  ?Bfl 
L^rj&CN  3U0 
UUi3«:m  ido 
i.urjjfM  1 uo 
lMrjiw  1 ii> 
l4*74lC(F  Jb, 

Ikiriicn  ii. 


i Mi  XI 1H  90 

lViaum  1 n> 

I,  41 1 3fJ  ,lh  Iff, 
iMiJIDh  27b 
LMIHiilL+j  1 On 
uuiirnr,  1 pB 
LMM4HM  I 
LKnayiM  4j 
L4U4WI4.  7m« 
LSU4B0M  ! jr, 
L*iM419fl  1 i>b 

4M14SBH  ^ 
lWMS6ff  g;, 
IMISSCK  c 36 
LMMHtiJ1  7 75 
iMifiOo-r  -\  30 
iMISOS>r  , Oft 
iMldlfi-'J  7^{ 
kUmijrn  4tfii 
lULbtOm  1 Jj, 
LM1B3QH  ?i] 
L4’lB44Pd  1 rs 


L Will*  1 35 
E HUTTO  '3li 
• L 1*1  7 05 

lM?Ii]>t+  j oo 

L MJ-JtlJP*  I fpn 
l MT-itiaV  1 143 
IU70I3P,  3 tin 

iMX4ll,ri  t J* j 
151  xr,. Ox  f H, 
L MjHln.lh,  t J", 

i MyiwiDM  [ iHLi 

1.  M Ith,  3 Pi  T OO 
1M^0P5M  1 fb 

iVHBJM  3Ki 

LP.lJ.l4hF,'  3oO 

1 MJ3ti7M  JOO 
1 M34D I Pm  FJLi 
kMlSuOPf  49 
I ^'3Wl5I4  filj 
iMJWW  -Ni 
|UJ»|  I«r  I h"i 

LMflCfltt  fib 
LP.lqiHflP,  .14X1 
I M4?SHK:n  j 4jLI 

LMa75«;N  ?Ori 

UM5M ftfi  ?s 


FOR  PROCESSOR  TECH 

14.318  $4.95 


DIP  SWITCHES 

7 POSITION 

1 BO 

A POSITION 

SI  60 

S POSITION 

2<Q0 

6 POSITION 

1 60 

9 POSITION 

2.25 

6 POSITION 

1 70 

10  POSITION 

2.50 

WIRE  WRAP  CENTE 


HOBBY-WRAP TOOL-BW-S30 

* Batten  Ope  raced  iSue  Cj 

• Weighs  ONLY  11  Ounces 
. Wtaps  30  AWG  Wire  onlp 

534  95  Slanoaid  DIP  Sockets  i 025  inch) 

■5.1  -ne.uoK.,  Complete  wiir>  Dutll-m  bit  ano  sleeve 


WIRE-WRAP  KIT  - WK-2-W 

WRAP  . STRIP  « UNWRAP  m 

• Tool  lor  30  AWG  Wire  T 

> Roll  oi  SO  Ft  While  or  Blue  30  AWG  Wire 

* SO  pcs  each  l 2 3 & 4 lengths  -- 

pre  stripped  wire 


$11.95 


* WIRE  WRAP  TOOL  W$U^30 

^ WWU*  * STRIP  . UNWRAP  U K 


WIRE  WRAP  WIRE  — 30  AWG 

son  si  95  tooo  n sis  oo 

SPECIFY  COLOR  — White  - Yellow  ■ Red  - Green  ■ Blue  Btit* 


WIRE  DISPENSER  — WD-JO 

* 50  H roll  30  AWG  KYNAR  wire  wrap  wire  M 45 

* Cuts  wire  to  desired  length  v “ ‘ 

* Stnps  1 oT  insulation  Specify  — Blue  Yellow -Whle  Red 


LIQUID  CRYSTAL  DIGITAL 
CLOCK'D  A LEN  DAR 


For  Auto  Home.  Office 
man  in  si£e  (3x?lriK 

uan  burton  for  eeconds  ie lease  to / dale 

K44  riiuwnt  jn jf rtfhijpe  *,ih  p.Fnep  3m  ofruDrs 

Ji34b0  Bflffpfi.  vELCflO  "'cryfltd 
1 MODELS  AVAILABLE 

lCO  UJ1  Co^fitPe  rnoflci  -uni  □ * sell  cenpfitned 
filTflries  1-DP  btP1ef  Inin  d yUj, 

D 'Hn$  cm  t/  ggn  5f  $pfim  and  >»  Dick 


LCD  to i Dr  LCD -102 

your  choice 


Deep  dsah  Hand  for 


$33.95  r 


MAT003,  12V  DC  CLOCK  MODULE 
^ n 

1-^iguajfaxx.TLni  .Build  m XHTAL  controlled 

* )|B|T  j.’  ; tune  bn¥o  Protected  age iriii 
BLBMBA.  J aulDmotiy*  volt  Iriniiflnfi 

1!^;,;,  I,  . ji 1 ■ — A i-i  tom  it  lc  tjrlgh  tnett  con 
__  ' y,  ,f*  ■ UOl  with  0.3"  green  color 

* . ^ diiplfiy.  Diiplay  turnoff 

V"|  j y5  with  ignition  J,OFFhh 


Computer  Products 

5J51  WEST  I44ih  STREET 
LAWNDALE.  CALIFORNIA  90260 
1213}  679  3313 


RETAIL  STORE  HOURS  M-F  9-7  SAT  9 5 
Discounts  available  at  OEM  quantities  Add  $1  2S 
lor  shipping  California  residents  add  6%  sales  tax 

1978  CATALOG  NOW  AVAILABLE 


164  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


FOR  ALL  CUSTOMERS  EXCEPT  CALIF.  CALL  TOLL  FREE  800-421-5809 


aicRorROCEWori 


F B 
2 BO 
IMA 

CC5P1B07CD 

AW7901 

6503 

&ooa  i 

BOBO* 

TURtraOTj. 

EIDD  SUPPORT 

0BIOP 
68  TOP 
682SP 
6B34P 


19  35 
75  CM 
15  00 
74  95 
12  95 
17  95 
■9  95 
B 75 
15  95 
as  95 


SfibQP 

63530 

6B6(JP 

6B67P 

6SIWP 


4 95 

a oo 

U 75 
‘6  95 


9 95 
1 I 95 
>4  95 

I?  9& 
j m 


Z|Q  SUPPORT  DEVICES 

3SB1  13  95 

J8a/  12  95 

F-t  SUPPORT  DEVICES 

iBbl  14  95 

3057  14  95 


MICROCOMPUTER 

MIUA  SUPPORT  DEVICES 


837  2 
9714 
831  e 
0724 
0270 
S23R 
■S751 
0753 
0255 
825? 
B759 


3 95 

9 95 

4 » 

4 95 
0 75 
0 00 
12  00 
?B  00 
17  00 
75  00 
75  00 


CHARACTER 

GENERATORS 

251]  UP  E 75 

?5l3  00WfJ  6 75 

7513  UP  15*1  9 95 

7513  DOWN  15*1  1095 

MCMG57I  10  SO 

MCM657IA  1000 

MCW6572  1000 

WCM65  M U 75 

MCWBM5  14  76 


LATE  ADDITIONS 
TMS  4044  Si  4,00 
TMS  5501  S24.9S 


STATIC  RAMS  17A 

75  99 

100 

31L07 

14501  1 SO 

1 40 

1 75 

71L0J 

i?W)l  1 9S 

1 BO 

1 50 

31  L 11 

* 75 

4 10 

3 95 

1 101  A 

1 49 

1 79 

> TO 

7101  1 

7 05 

7 75 

7 50 

?10J 

■ 7S 

1 15 

1 DO 

7107  1 

i 5n 

1 30 

1 15 

1 7H11 

4 00 

3 SO 

3 35 

7117  1 

3 00 

2 BO 

7 69 

7114 

17  95 

>6.95 

16  60 

4 200 A 

12  05 

I?  SO 

1 1 95 

5101 C £ 

1 1 95 

11  35 

■ 0 75 

WAVEFORM  GENERATOR 

| KEYBOARD  CHIPS 

5030 

400 

AY&3376 

UBS 

MC4074 

7 SO 

A Y5  3600 

13  96 

see 

1 75  1 

I 7710 
I7?ie  DT 


55  95 
59  9b 


PROM'S 

'wa 

7704 

2700 

7J15 

3M1 

&703AO 

5204  no 

&034 

0B34-I 

B2533B 

02230 

DYNAMIC 

1103 

2104 

7107A 

71070 

7107&4 

T MS4O50 

TMS406D 

4096 

4110 

MM &2  70 

MM52B0 

MCM6605 

UADI'S 
AYS  10134 
Ays  10144 
TR  16024 
TMS -6011 
»M  6402 
iM  6403 


5 00 

15  00 
13.00 
30  00 

4 so 
400 
BOO 

16  95 
14  95 

4 00 

2 70 

RAMS 

i 50 
4 50 

3 75 

4 M 
fl  00 
450 
4 50 
4 50 

42  00 
500 
6oo 
E 00 


55C 
6 95 
550 
E95 
10  00 
10  GO 


Ml  SC 

OTHER  COMPONENTS 

NM0O25CN 

NH0O7BCN 

N0T7O 

NBT  26 

7436? 

DMHO&fl 
1480 
I4B9 
O 32D7A 
C 3404 
P J40BA 
P 4201 
MM  &320 
MM  5369 
DM -01 30 
DM0131 
OM  Bail 
DM  0933 
DM  0835 
5N  74  U 536  7 
5N74L536S 


1 70 
250 

3 50 

2 45 
BO 
90 

1 95 
1 95 
700 
3.95 
5.00 

4 95 
7 50 

1 90 

3 90 

2 75 
7 50 
7 50 
7 50 


KIM 


KIM  1 
6502 
G53P 
6522 
6530  00? 
55  ID  003 
6530004 
65J0  005 


245  00 
>7  95 
9 00 
9 75. 
1595 
15  95 
lb  95 
15  95 


JADE  VIDEO  INTERFACE  KIT 

FEATURES  $89.95 

SJOO  Bus  Compatible 
32  or  64  Characters  per  line 
16  hoes  . 

Graphics  (128  x 48  matrix} 

Parallel  & Compositive  video 
On  board  low-power  memory 

Powerful  so! 


cursor, 
Chi 


lul  software  included  for 
, home,  EOL,  Scroll  Graphics/ 


..taracter,  etc. 

Upper  case,  lower  case  & Greek 
Black-on- white  St  white -on-black 


MOTHER  BOARD 

* 13  SLOT  MOTHER  BOARD  w/ front 

panel  slot 

* WOO  DESIGN 

* FULL  GROUND  PLANE  ON  ONE  SIDE 

* RC  NETWORK  TERMINATION  ON 

EVERY  LINE  EXCEPT  PWR  & GRO 

* KLUGE  AREA 

* STRONG  1/8"  THICK  DOUBLE  SIDED 

BOARD 

BARE  BOARD  $35.00  KIT  $86.00 


PERSCI  DISK  DRIVE  FOR  S-100 

Info  2000  S-100  DISK  SYSTEM 
COMPLETE 


(includes  dual  drive,  power  supply,  case, 

ables,  anc 

$2,650.00 
$195.00 


intelligent  controller,  adapter,  cables,  and 
disk  monitor  on  EPROM} 


COMPLETE  TDL  SOFTWARE 
PKG,  FOR  DISK 


REAL  TIME  CLOCK  FOR  S-100  BUS 

BARE  BOARD  $30.00  KIT  $124,95 


JADE  PARALLEL/SERIAL 

INTERFACE  KIT 

s.,00  $124.95  KIT 

2 Serial  Interfaces  with  RS232 
interfaces  or  l Kansas  City  cassette 
interlace. 

Sena!  interfaces  are  crystal  controlled. 
Selectable  baud  rates. 

Cassette  works  up  to  1200  baud 
1 parallel  port. 


EDGE  CONNECTORS 


S^IOO 

S-100 


Altair  Spacing 
Itnsai  Spacing 


$4.45 

$4.45 


THE  PROM  SETTER 

WRITE  and  REAU 
EPROM 

1702A-2708-2716 

5204-6834 

* lflii;Kh  Dirff  ll?  inta  ynur  AI-TAW  I M S A H ip f 

« In,  Hull'*  AMm  Module  Board  Ami  K ^i*rn.n  fd’Nl >M 
Si.fkHf  1 7 Ft  ft 

* Thr  KfJHl  IM  5nr|n>i  (.PfiiI  is  fflfWrtM  Ml  ibftCnim 
finr<*r  Umujfjh  <1  ii5  Plft  r.rUirtfflrtr 

* Pfr.ur^frhiimfl  i*  ,i r.r. nn i p N sb cd  by  ih*1  r,intt|nf1tLr 

* |u*1  Hf.nl  111  rhf  Pribram  III  b?  WrHKm  uri  the 
l-PkNM  min  vmif  Prntpusiir  ami  lei  ihrt  Unmpidcr 
i|h  ibf  f f m 

1 Dir  Snrkoi  Uni  in  Rpad  Epftivhfi  Cnmtnit  min 
Vwif  nnjnfiulrc 

* ^Iw.irr  inrlul|;i| 

* \'n  | Pnw-rr  Supplies.  Ymir  Cmnnuipr  Ham 

M id' 

* IIihiMf'*,  a*.  ,m  Kij?hl  Bil  ParaJlrl  HJ 

* MiiPUid  mi  IihIihI  I.ass  than  ffd  ifav* 

THE  PROM  SETTER 
KIT  ASSEMBLED 
$210.00  $375.00 


some  18120 


A CAPABLE  LOW 
COST  APPROACH  TO 
REMOTE  VIDEO 
DISPLAY  TERMINALS 

* Lv’-ilffl'  Hfv,  S >*inTt i o 

* **j"iffhr  n*t  P»Et &<i,td«,d 

* Lira  4 wo  F>vr  I nil  ftindud 

* (ddnmbii  Outlet  llmdifo 

* 5™ikFr  l(n»e  tliil*  T ! rfurnimisjn 
I,nm  tt  19  1 1 ZOO  (J4J* 

* CunmijllkihDn  M dm 

mdj  tot  much 

* inniiifUf  Aiirrar 
BSli)  f hltntign 

* RSJ3?C 

* Non  Gtirr  And  0ul  $c<t« 

■ P^nltc!  IJ  jd-r  -Sian^ifg 

» Tin  SliUi!d 


$975  00 

Assembled 
Price  Includes 

• Block  Mode 

• •Lower  Case 

• 24  Line  Option 

• and  shipping 
charge  is  on  us. 


8K  STATIC  RAM  BOARD 


assembled  & tested 


250ns. 

450ns. 


$1 9995 
$150.00 


* WILL  WORK  WITH  NO  fRONT  PANEL 

* FULL  DOCUMENTATION 

* FULLY  BUFFERED 

* SIOO  DESIGN 

* ADEQUATELY  BYPASSED 

* LOW  POWER  SCHOTTKY  SUPPORT  ICS 


250ns. 

450ns. 


KIT 


$169.95 

$129.95 


BARE  BOARD  $25  00 

W/SCHEMATIC  ^ ,Kfyj 


ADAPT  YOUR  MOTOROLA  SfiM 
SYSTEM  TO  OUR  S-100  8K  RAM 
BOARD,  KIT  PRICE  $12.95 


IMSAUALTAIR  < 


COMPATliLE 


S-100 

JADE  Z80,... 

-with  PROVISIONS  for  KIT 
ONBOARD  2706  and  POWER  ON  JUMP 


(2MHZ) 


$135.00  EA. 
$149.95  EA. 

BARE  BOARD  $35.00 


(4MHZ) 


JADE  8080A  KIT 
$100.00  KIT 

BARE  BOARD  $35.00 


TU-l 


VIDEO  INTERFACE 


You  will  want  to  know  about  the  TV-1  Video 
to  Televisior  Interface  Kit. 

No  need  to  buy  e separate  Video  Monitor  if 

you  already  own  a TV  set.  Just  connect  the 

TV-1  between  your  system  video  output  and 

the  TV  set  antenna  terminals  - that's  all  there 

is  to  it  * to  convert  your  TV  set  to  a Video 

Monitor,  and  at  a much  lower  cost!  PRICE  $8  95 


Computer  Products 


5351  WEST  lAAin  STREET 
LAWMDALE.  CALIFORNIA  90260 
(2133  679  3313 

w 

RETAIL  STORE  HOURS  M F 9-7  SAT  9 b 
Discounts  available  at  OEM  quantities  Add  £1  25 
tor  shipping  California  residents  add  6%  sale*  ta* 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  85 


INTERFACE  AGE  165 


ADVANCED 

COMPUTER 
RODUCTS 


$235.00 


MOTOROLA 

6800 

COMPATIBLE 

MODULES 


MEK  6800  D2  KIT 

9600  6800  MPU  595,00 

9601  16  Slol  Mother  Bd  175.00 

9602  1 6 Slot  Card  Cage  75.00 

9603  6 Slot  Mother  Bd.  100.00 

9610  Proto  Board  36,00 

9615  4K  EPROM  Module  E1702AI  250,00 
9620  16  Port  Parallel  I/O  375,00 

9626  8K  Static  RAM  Module  295.00 
9626 K 6 K Static  HAM  Kit  225.00 

9630  Extender  Card  60.00 

9650  6 Pori  Duplex  Asyn  Serial  I/O  395.00 
Connectors  S6,50  6/84.00 

All  assembled  & tested  not  Kits 
PLUS  MOTOROLA  TV  MONITORS  PRIME 
Model  M3560  155  LOT  12"  display  219  95 
Moria  I M 2000- 1 5 5 9"  d ispl  ay  1 99  95 

Add  ST 0.00  lor  shipping 


LOGOS  SK  STATIC  MEMORY 

$125.99- 

Kit 

A item  bled  & tested  $179,95 

260  (IS.  Kit  149.95 

Assembled  St  tested  199.95 

F n tu  res : L o wpower.  Dip  Sw  I tch 

Selectable  memory  protect 
down  to  256  Bytes,  addressing 
1 ^ ^ on  1 K Boundaries,  No  wail 

t'V**  states,  lull/  buffered,  battery 
backup 

SPECIAL  OFFER: 

Buy  4 Units  Only  ST  17. 00  ea. 


iO*  , 


BYTEUSER  8K  EPROM  $64.95 

Assembled  & tested  S 94.95 
- ^ Bare  PC  Board  w/Dala  21.95 

0K  EPROM  {8)  2708  3112,00 

Features:  Power  On  Jump,  Reset 

Jump,  all  socketed  with  lop 
quality  PC  Board  material. 

SPECIAL  OFFER: 

Btiy  4 Units  Only  $59.95  ea. 


2 80  CPU  KIT 

Low  Price 

{regular  price  269.95) 
Assembled  & tested 


$129.95 

Kit 

£199.95 


FEATURES: 

S 100  IMSAI/Aliair  compatible, 
completely  compatible  In  TDL 
hardware  end  software.  Can  be 
used  at  4MHr  with  Z-80A. 

Add  37  00  for  sockets 
Add  S5.00  for  ZflO  manual 

NOW  IN  STOCK 
FOR  IMMEDIATE  SHIPMENT. 


DATA  BOOKS 

ni&CPiuiMl  s 1U& 

MSC  LirU-^r  J UEt 

WSC  Lirli-Jr  AiW  ‘/nl  I ? g$ 

Umar  ftVW  Vol.  II  7fl& 

NSC  CMOS  / 

NSC  Audio  . 'A  5b 

NSC  VollJi|i' Rcij  2 0& 

NS£M<irnorv  335 

|iltL-1  n^i.i  EibtHk  jgr, 

li-iCr-l  Me  5 B!i  M.-muI  J Hti, 

WIl-OMCS  flow,  Hindi 

liiutl  MC 5 .10  fcUmj.a  4 "J!i 

AML)  SiltJQ  Mit.ui.fw:  H iiihIIimi.i-  7 titi 

nivn  wqs  CrfMiHtjUi'  s os 

KjyTlVMI  Iifk^t  ? ill) 

R>*fltii*'uM  OujUitJoiik  1 

□I  MOS  C,ii,ilom>,-  >1  ffr 

Oihtlrllr  l[T[PO  To  MiAA  y*Tl  U J 50 

OptllPfHIr  ilUPO  ll?  tkicp  Vwl  I 7 bd 

OdHMPM'  InlMI  Ml  MtCUP  Vm  li  15  00 

Oylitun^  BOldfl  Pio^NOiirtiiMi  7 SO 

OltlDi  PW  OSOO  t'pfiqr jmiPtiPlij  t 

O-ilitjpnn  i!Sfl  Pfr»|iH!OM5ipini  7.60 


THE  FIRST  TO  OFFER  PRIME  PRODUCTS  TO  THE  HOBBYIST  ^ 
AT  FAIR  PRICES  NOW  LOWERS  PRICES  EVEN  FURTHER! 

1.  Proven  Quality  Factory  rested  products  only,  no  re  tests 
or  fallouts.  Guaranteed  monyy  hack.  We  stand  behind  our  products. 

2.  Same  Day  Shipment  All  prepaid  orders  with  cashiers 

check,  money  order  or  charge  card  will  be  shipped  same  day  as  received, 

I MICROPROCESSORS 


AMI 

6800  KIT 
EVK  99 
only 

$133.00 

Send  for  complete  details 

EVK  99  Kit 

EVK  1O0  Kit  . . .. 

EVK  200  Kit  + , 

EVK  300  Assembled  . . 

Universal  Kluge  Board  . 

TGK  Byle  RAM  Board  . . 

5 51  bt  Motherboard  . . 

Ex  lender  Board 
Video  Board  {avail,  fulure) 
Com- cc  lors  . . £6.50 

Solid  Frame  Chassis 
Frame  Chassis  . , 

Micro  Assembler  RDM 
Proto  ROM ... 

Tmy  Basic  Papcrtnpe 
Tiny  Basic  EPROM 


$133.00 

269.95 

44995 

599.00 

95.00 
7500 

35.00 

45.00 

95.00 
12/59,95 

1 20.00 
59.95 

30.00 

30.00 

20.00 
126.00 


Hardware  or  Programming  Manuals  15.00  ea 


B0B0A  CPU  KIT  $99.95 

Kit 

Assembled  & tested  £129  95 

FEATURES: 

$-1 00  bus  compatible, 
com  pi  el  c CPU  with 
eight  level  vector  interrupt. 
Includes  sockets. 

Add  S5.00  for  8060  Manual 


16K  SUPCRFAST  RAM  S 

Up  D 416/41 16  360ns,  PRIME 

Buy  8 PCS-  - Only  $29. 95  each 
Buy  1 6 pcs.  - Duly  $27,95  each 

Larger  qminnty  or  group  buys 
call  for  current  price  quote. 


TARBELL  FLOPPY  INTERFACE 

Complete  Kit  Only  Si  79.95 
Assembled  & tested  $269.95 

FEATURES:  SIQQ/Altair/IMSAI 

compatible,  compatible 
to  most  disc  drives 
including  Persci,  (unoKCK, 
GSI,  Shu  gar  t and  others. 

SOFTWARE:  Uses  CPM  which  is 
available  for  £70.00 
CPM  documentation 
add  £20.00 

Same  Day  Shipment 


NAKED  PC  BOARD  SALE  S-1G0 

Z-80  CPU  $31.95 
2708  EPROM  SK  21.95 
SK  Static  RAM  21.95 
32 K Static  RAM  59.95 
Floppy  I/O  S39.95 
Cassette  I/O  29,95 

Prato  Bd.  27,95 

Extender  15.95 


UV  "EPROM"  ERASER 

Model  UVS-11E  only  $59.95 

Holds  14)  chips  at  a time. 

Special  bolding  tray  with 
UVA  Absorber.  Exclusive 
safety  interlock  system. 

Backed  by  45  years  UV  expariigncv. 


WOW  1771  FLOPPY  SPECIAL 
L£1  While  (hey  last  S32-95 
Cl  regular  price  $55,95 
CM  Wbsic  rn  d igi  [at  P/M  T 77 1 A 

with  Apr,  ('Jose  & Data 

Only  100  units  available 


CO 


**■» 

t in* 

1 ■ I3HH 

/me 

CUIIIW 


retu 

ron* 

15*5  fl'JWUI 

v mm 

(.bo) 

luiiieo 


S 25 
<9  ft 

Mft 
IV  ft 
17ft 
73  91, 

Uft 
fin 
?9ft 
*9  ft 
39  ft 
t9ft 
7993 
1$  35 
i?  ft 


STATIC  RAM  HEADQUARTERS 


* >ln  u/.iyi-,, 

W.‘ 

1 1*  iKM'i 


JiU  t 

nu  i 

J ll  U I » 

p™  * 


1 7r*  1 lb  *i»nt>!HH4?flD, 

I HU  1 » MU t 

, H,  in  vnid,  [ 

« & 1h 

1 i W J«l 

i lu  tV, 

1T>  tv 

tv  m-j  U5.JW 

tv  rfr  H1711 

iv  in  t\*"* 

nav  ue? 


llt'ju 

I.. 


A TO  D CONVERTORS 


SUPPORT  DEVICES 


• iraai iznoproj 
3&tt2  i^BDCTCl 

llbl  fUfr^iitll 

JI!iliriiK,™,„(  1.EU 
T7»,THMrli0 
■7l4eNiU.lv  MrNMU 
UlUhtllFUl 

B7»crwa  Ghi 

■774  1 IMH^CLKCuu 

*aT20  Btrtdrr^. 

W7r.1U,.Hr.«1 

H 733  $<1  CtaiMlI  ull-r. 

H7Sfl  Svi  Cun»Mir*r 

Cimlm  I 

ip1..vjt  Tunvi 
H7%Ti^Mlirprii(U  Whiuh  M 
H7-J7  DMA  curare 
H7*i*l  I'll..*  liirrlnNII 
1M13  1 Ift 

* 0BLhD  PIA 
m.u  nfBiyaiX 
Mfirneuw4K 
UIM  ACI  j, 

Sp.ivI 


r>lM  rti-5  UMhUnu 
■ eanu  i a WHi  epuck  Dsc  ?•&% 

MtiR  Writ  thuilii.n  ? "If, 

P.Vnll  Mm.tn  } 19  W,. 

M t&nttt  Uui.twg  3 71  «, 

6in  19JJ1  Wind  Aiwffihi,,  Hi,^,  VJ  I HI 


171ft 

n «, 

14  1!, 

1M 

3 e. 

171*. 
2 25 
IN 
J v 
1 !fa 
11  !A 
?l'JfF 
Mflf. 

3JK> 

7.9B 

II  (Hj 
ftHti 
ItVff 
h«h 

w» 

irUa 


HlflPCM 

riiini.* 

* 


71^ 

Mft 

395 


DISPLAVS/QPTO 

DL  iMttol  CCiCA  3QQ  I 

rfiBJHCC  ft) 

(Ml  MH.'WUCC.CA  Mfl 
rNDUifSiococA  "Jin 
rM>aHi.'seicc'CA  mo 


rSCfl9714^.li.«CC  HlMh 
irtWSJD  ur  * bhH'i 
1IL  mi.  fl-t, 

FIL  JM,  t»H  *(Iih<i 

T|i  3QM  ? bnjiWl.iT. 


TEL  I w'fuijtL 
til.  JIlllDt  OuiiUy 

MA  >LH  ] 1 ’}  ...  in  .hi.  t 
M*  M)32  4 mu  Uh,i  iwhJ.,t 
MA  IQ  I 9 4 !ll*|1  rlmri  m.HjhJ, 

1 ?Jr3 1\  JuUtCDCA  M(L 
Mur-jAi^MdueeciCA  300 
Tn.m4n..4ccic*  ?iiQ 

n *V  yt)-  D|l(Ch  IwpIuEU' 

W-l  /OtibflMUm  M 

4HviiriH,...hti,^iEni 

e.atT.n  In  ».<  vluv 

fiN«U  f HllriH,  4 l eo 


I ft, 
n 
7 1.Q 
99 
4 IS 

nn 

i Sir 

H-m 

$9?i 

7.!Hi 
9 73 
17  9D- 
9« 
9 95 
719 
)M' 
3 M 

3'1» 


LSie)  l.M 
iilM  t.» 
LSI  74  1.9V 

LSDS  m 
Ul9a  7.49 
LS19.1  J.  49 
LS1V7  2 *9 
US1H  2.4S 
LS194  ?4» 

LSI  94  hi 
LS251  >34 

LSJ51  14V 
LSJSr  179 
L$K*  1.J9 
LS/7V  ne 

LS75SI3  I IQ 


1JH1  99 
L49»  » 

LS)7T  ( M 
14709  4 94 
J4js>  ( a 
74JH  I ie 
74JV*  1 »S 

T4»i  « 
743«  79 

74367  TV 
14JM  TV 

I4«*  1J* 
itLSft  via 
9HS«  1 19 

HI  L 547  1 IQ 
• 1LI*1  1.14 


MONTHLY  SPECIALS 


Kfl31  1IIW3  Pi.,r- 
1H71SCI3  14  HAM 
i4?»cri  ihm  + i naw 
1A74CO  17  ■ * RAM 
lMJco  ■(,.!(  q 

IffiiWU  I I) 

ivbrceno 


• aw 

/Jansen*^ 

l»2A 

* i'7<nf  r 

f,794 

■ IMSfllO 
til* 

*H,14  l 
■75173 
47(171* 

■TV  UK 

U?J 

s/ei 

1,|  Aih.I* 


» DO 
U«. 
5 « "ft 

■ Sft 
ia  ift 

■ » 
I <■ 


3Sfl 

iew 

?tft 


SOCKETS 


■ flN  Hr,-. 

14  H*.  Am 
16  P „ mm 
U lh™,  Hr* 


H **l  S if 
M ISn  4-t 

l&ftnl.l 
tfl  r,n  s 1 
!7  V,iv  ST 
71  p,n  in 
7B  Pih  (7T 
4flTrflST 


•MK5i)97'-6IW9 
A T9  3M7  DVMCH.il 
ICU)71M|F|  Cir  'Ouu'Cn- 
ICMJIU9  |P(  CU  'Dmshh 
ICM7044  IP*  ilu^W.ldN 
G 1 1 5M  S C h*n"f  i WOS  P LT  Si 

4t(e.‘4(t  If,*  OYHum.r  QAM 

lnl.1  31M6-H.I  L.lrh 

14  BH  lVS9rtS733  Qn*tt 

1T9I  BvHfp 

him '4131 

M33  BB35 
74i57'T43tH 
TWDbl.-U 

arK 

7(5105  ?n  oa 

LMHK  It* 

4N25  Opto/Jso  *69 


til » 

J4  94 

tn 

IV  te 
ii » 
H9V 
t 1*9 
an 
m 
i W 
i ft 
7 4b 
■ «t 
vs  oa 
1CJ  M 

?■'*  H 


CONNECTORS 


RAMS  DYNAMIC 


?fF 

l^iaouK  j.i 

1 Hi  . If.  Hull  Dl 
77. 4.1  tW  !)t 
13/19  dull  SfT 
4J'H9llirJl  Vl/A 
Ml.- (DO  I y/.HlV 
bn'imn  *WsAf  $1 
Mi  me  a ifj-i  flirt* 

90-194  Alii,.  SrT 

[ft  Tui  U SubMuruiu.ir 

eene 

tjeTM  i n 


5PGCIAL  7/s ! da 
749$  MfrMWi, 
)4ts  MPS356* 

?43B  WJVb  IV 

M/19  rMstW 


.,  tr. 

(,  Ml 

tk 

4 J*. 


•4115 

• nr,  1C. 

twHir#) 

TW541KM  il  „.. 

Brunei* 

Ul'IV  CM  ..... 
719* 

7797 

•2107114 

W',lr,7b  1 

tJFJI\J  Pit 

MVVHf. 

Ilm 


SPLClftL 

2 Si  on 

>44? 

M1?J 

7M9 

71145 

Jib] 

74  lb] 

IADS 

7ILJlft 

■ USA  I Ci*ll  i'l-iHl.* 


4 H 
14ft 
■ ?■* 

19V 
1 'ft 
Aft 
A "ft 


CRYSTALS 

IIMIU  i efl-j  lQ(rtiM3 


wer/  i «m 

&t ftjji  6 L K) 

P)«a«l  h T IH 

5i1Jr5 

J9IM.9J  5 1 DO 
V1PH31H  illfcj 

vns«a(  6 r m 
".fPSft  *v  v-140 
b t an 
5-1  Ell 

w«»i  S 1 Kl 


■WSJfrl/ 

..fl'SV>7( 

WSJH91 

MPI1H46 

I5T5J 

757U 

1137U1 

TJ*1* 

M 14rj 


5 1 DO 
9 I 04 

nun 


FLOPPY  DISK 


CHARACTER  GENERATORS 

aai?M3  u»ih,  W sin  mi 

11017-313  Inn.-* 6 V Vft 

IIDlllte  944 

VCttjift  HI  an 

'■JICM.14  14  H 

VCfj  )1»  14  fiO 

KEYBOARD  ENCODERS 

AYUJ/i  *14  ft 

AVbJKlMI  14  ft 


TO 

20!i7IH  5fl5 
J 4176  6 

3 5 79'.*,t!i  JVJi 

4 0 9 35 

,113,(30,1  !.*)■, 
■ 91620  1^5 

li  U A gf, 

5 7H1  &G5 

C,i>  4 95 


13  fl  4% 
H 3 1111H  4 95 
IS  a 4 5b 

14  432  5 95 

TO  fl  A 05 
22  UM  i*0b 
72  eoe  5 95 

JD  1W0  5 05 

JHfNWI  1*91, 

1CMKC  1?  05 


7f(5Jt7 


COMP  KITS  & SYSTEMS: 


NEW  CTS  OIPSWJTCHES 

crunk,!  lift  Ctstcmh  11  » 
07S79VI)  5(75  0 5799  9 5145 

OS7466  1175  C1S2D9  19  Si  ft 
CTITflF  ) Si  ft 


WE  (440?  K.* 
ft(P41  659T 
tV-HM  E4D9  Ki( 

T.fKAso  5909  KH 
(AlT.tM.tJ,  5149  K.l 
1j*ii  fimm  r.wiiu,*M  fi.-iiin 
NSC  VC  wr  n.f 

MSC  Kt^  Iiuj-u  k,i 

U*  Cml  S IC&flUS  AHh  t 

6 PliApI  5uMV‘, 

VH  Ojni  K.r  .|u*l|(l 


UlbW 
7(5  DO 
133  09 
7ft  DQ 

741  SO 


JWj  K*E  *rK4 

(□(.  iPLf  4.1  iTill. 
liUh-ll  cjiu^h  p-Q 
SlpQAi'.n  W..II..  .U,, 


It  K.r 


UARTS/USRTS 

AYiiienjA  iby, 
in  I647N  aw 
AVI*  Him  1b  UVI 

Av**((l4lbvi 
IMM9J  IL'JI 
iWMinifiV) 
l/ftll 

nni67ii|  Ai.m, 


i ill 
H K) 
M 44 
17  ft 
17  ft 
left 
m«, 


BAUD  RATE  GENERATORS 

r,v:  i!4  n f.  n ■**. 

hVrtr-M  I riM.i  9'H, 

■ H ?H7  ll  W. 

TV  Chi  PS 

■ MMb3TD  rv  Synch  S9% 

5W5HI  l'*HwjiM  1 1» 

HM'.iiefMi.rtiMChHi  lb, r. 

MMl  F 1(H  CIWrt.t  J Jb 

LMiflH'/M.nMJl.li  1ft 

qi(Y30Q5JA.r,,MiK.n  1*10 

AV.lrjDO  1 TV  tH*nr  VH 

AV  .1(600  1 Edu  IV  Ei««.  ti  'ft 

AD  J(V  )5  I Co*ih  A ft 

• AT  3B7QQ  I T unb  &„*  79  9t 

I ft 


ORGAN  CHIPS 


WSliMiLb  11  Mt4l 


We  aim  stuck  full  uf  7400. 
74LS.  74  L Linear  and  CMOS 
Send  fur  pricing  ut  use  our 
competitors  STD  catalog 
pricing. 

NEW 

1078  CATALOGUE 
AVAILABLE  FEB. 
SEND  ,2S  POSTAGE 

74LS00  TTL 


VI0.ir.Un4M  5n,.h 
illM  U^rn  Scu*a 
Vnrwr  Ffi994rui^  lJ.»uiF 
IU5A*  ton  * TJ  u.H 
CiCIUr*rtj,  i 7 

TDL  HU  Af|  AlrfM  1 

Hrta,,it»;i  Sp«*iWrti 

SOHOf  IlIT'JO  Irlni^ii* 
B4  Him  UnJUl  IL*fcH.* 
at,  i iMCm 

smo  17A  h*-,  4 ,1 

0vlrT*i*i  HpF 


ft  49 

Iftft 
FftM. 
Mft 
?9B  09 
749  » 
Mb  40 

Vflft 
ib  ft 
17  ft 
lift 
6ft  OO 
5ft  M 
FV9IU 
ISS04 
799  04 

M'j  CM 

71*5 
7195 
■7b  40 
UbHJ 


CLOCK  CHIPS 

VW5J11  f 4 Vr 

W'jJH.  (ft 

Ifl, 


74LSM 
LS0? 
LS  at 

am 

LlOfl 

tsie 

Lb  u 
Li  (4 
LiTO 
Li7  7 
LS39 
LiJJ 
L549 
L54J 
Liti 
(173 
LS7( 
Li  75 
L57{ 

L ii9J 

Lift 


LSJU  55 
L540  1 IQ 

(19?  ■ 19 

(393  1 19 

Lin  i«* 
L J 19?  55 

Li  1 9.1  54 

Ml  17  55 

LUO  56 
LSI  ?3  ft 
LSI  3?  119 

L5  i J(  99 
LS13»  139 

UTJI  1 *9 
L3)bl  149 
(M93  1 79 

Limb  149 
LMb?  129 
L515*  1 » 
LSlfl-l  139 
IS  II?  I IS 


NOTICE 

Wc  are  looking  for  software 
support  packages  to  offer  in 
our  new  catalogue.  Please 
write  or  call  if  you  want  to 
participate. 


ISSiL 


An,  ,11,1  *CU  m,  m>5  1*14,4. 

ll.Wri  5109  Hi?  Ait  5 
- U.*-.,  Ul.r  5109 44  itb,  J 1, 

a ,h..|  %Tj,)rrflMr^  H,A 

^nl,-,.cj"d  Clin  .i>,|i|a  ,1  |b.|^,..| 

1"  i.t.n.lu,  W.„fl1Tm  [j,  F,..ljr, 

Ond.n,  vw  4 'ui.iFHh  An  - 

'Jil^*K  *.*pj«I^F  5^,1  .n, 

i4l**rlWI*1  *rth  lb  ivrti>  Im  D n.i 


P.  0.  BOX  17329  Irvine,  California  92713 


New  Phone  (714)  558-8813 

TELEX/TWX;  910-5951565 


Retail  Store  Open  Mon,  - Sat. 
Located  at  1310  *fB"  E.  Edinoer. 
Santa  Ana,  CA  92705 


166  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  67 


APRIL  1978 


SOFTWARE  SECTION 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


Use  Your  Computer 
to  Sort  Resistors 


By  Lucille  A.  Moody 


A few  months  ago,  while  I was  building  my  8WTFC 
CT-64  video  terminal,  I noticed  that  one  of  the  most  time 
consuming  tasks  was  sorting  the  resistors  for  the  kit.  1 
used  a color  code  table,  since  I can  never  remember  the 
color  codes,  but  it  still  took  quite  a bit  of  time.  Then  \ 
had  an  idea.  Why  not  write  a simple  program  to  figure 
the  resistor  values  for  me?  It  took  me  a few  days  to  com- 
plete the  program  and  get  the  bugs  out,  but  it  was  well 
worth  it.  I was  then  able  to  sort  all  the  remaining 
resistors  with  ease. 

I think  before  I get  into  the  program  I should  give  you 
a little  information  about  the  color  code  for  resistors. 
Referring  to  Figure  1,  most  resistors  have  four  bands  of 
various  colors.  When  read  from  left  to  right,  band  A is 
the  most  significant  figure  of  resistance  in  ohms;  band 
B is  the  second  significant  figure;  band  C is  the  decimal 
multiplier,  and  band  D is  the  resistance  tolerance  in  per- 
cent. If  band  D is  missing  then  this  band  is  referred  to  as 
“no  color/1 


A B C D 

Band  A — First  digit 
Band  B — Second  digit 
Band  C — Multiplier 
Band  D — Tolerance 

Figure  1. 


When  the  program  starts,  it  prints  a table  of  resistor 
band  colors  with  their  associated  numbers.  After  that 
you  are  requested  to  enter  four  band  numbers.  Then  the 
resistance  and  tolerance  are  computed  and  printed, 
Figure  2. 

This  program  was  written  for  the  SWTPC  6800  com* 
puter  and  the  SWTPC  CT-64  video  terminal,  which  was 
wired  for  32  characters  per  line.  It  will  run  in  either  the 
SWTPC  4 K or  8K  BASIC,  versions  2.0.  It  could  be  used 
with  any  BASIC  with  perhaps  some  modifications. 

This  program  could  also  be  used  for  other  purposes 
besides  kit  building.  One  possible  use  would  be  sorting 
bargain  resistor  assortments,  which  save  money  but 
take  a lot  of  time  to  organize.  This  is  one  job  1 particu- 
larly hated  to  do,  since  unlike  capacitors,  the  values 
canTt  be  read  directly  from  the  resistors. 


So  the  next  time  you  are  buiiding  a piece  of  electronic 
equipment,  use  this  program  to  make  the  parts  sorting 
go  a little  faster.D 

PROGRAM  LISTING 

1 REM  RESISTANCE  COLOR  CODE  PROGRAM 

2 REM  BY  LUCILLE  MOODY 

3 REX  COMPUTER:  S.VTPC  6800 

4 REX  SUPPORT  SOFTWARE:  SWTPC  ifK  BASIC,  VERSION  2,0 

5 RETT  LIST  FOR  THIRD  COLOR  BAND  f XULTI PL  I ER)  IS  READ 
10  DIM  X(12) 

ZQ  FOR  K-l  TO  12 
30  READ  X(K) 

40  NEXT  K 

50  HEM  INSTRUCTIONS  ARE  PRINTED 
60  PRINT "THIS  PROGRAM  WILL  COMPUTE" > 

70  PHI  [^"RESISTANCE  VALUES  FROM  COLOR1' 

60  PRINT  "CODE,  ENTER  COLOR  BAND  NUMBERS11 
90  PRINT  "FROM  LEFT  TO  RIGHT  SEPARATED" 

100  PRINTOUT  COMMAS." 

110  REM  COLOR  CODE  TABLE  IS  PRINTED 
120  PRINT 

130  PRINT"  TO  BLACK"; TAB (11 ) ; "#1  BROWN11 ; TAB{21) ; "#Z  RED" 

140  PRIHT"#3  ORANGE"; TAB t 11 b "#4  YELLOW" ; TAB( 21 ) ; GREEN" 
150  PRINT" ^6  ELUE";TAE{ 11 ) ; UU7  VIOLET"; TAB f 21 > ; 'V/8  GREY" 

160  PRINT 'VTO  MTTR";TAB(ll)j"j&0  GOLD" ; TA B ( 21 ) ; "TO.  1 SILVER" 
170  PRINT "^12  NO  COLOR" 

ISO  PRINT 

190  PRINT "ENTER  BAND  NUMBERS"; 

200  1NPUTB1 ,02,63,54 
210  LETB3=  B3+  1 

220  HEM  RESISTANCE  AND  TOLERANCE  ARE  COMPUTED  AND  PRINTED 
230  PRINT 11  REST  STANCE", "TOLERANCE" 

240  LETR=  (10*11+  B2)*X(B3> 

250  IFB4=2THEN370 
260  tFP4-  10THEN390 
270  IFE4=  11THEN4X0 


APRIL  1978 


INTERFACE  AGE  167 


SOFTWARE  APPLICATION 


Look  To  The  Horizon. 


The  North  Star 


HORIZON  Computer. 


HORIZON 


To  begin  programming  in  extended  BASIC*  merely  add 
a CRT  or  hard-copy  terminaL  HORIZON-1  includes  a 
Z80A  processor!  16K  RAM*  minifloppy  TM  disk  and  12- 
slot  S400  motherboard  with  serial  terminal  interface— all 
standard  equipment. 

And,  Look  To  Computer  Enterprises 
For  The  Lowest  Prices  & Fastest 
Delivery  On  North  Star  Horizon 


Computer  System: 

Credit 

Card 

Price 

Horizon  l System  (one  drive)  kit  , . . SI 497 

Cash 

Discount 

Price 

$1439 

Horizon  1 System  (one  drive) 
assembled 

..$1777 

$1709 

Horizon  2 System  (two  drives)  kit 

. .51871 

$1799 

Horizon  2 System  (two  drives) 
assembled  * 

.,$2199 

$2114 

ALSO:  Run  TDL  Software  On  Your 
Horizon... 

TDL  Package  A with  Super  Basic  ♦ . % 228  $ 219 

For  Your  Serial  Terminal: 

Lear  Siegler  A DM -3  A (kit)  . S 728  S 700 

Lear  Siegler  ADM-3A  (assembled)  , $ 858  $ 825 

Call  Or  Write  Today 
For  Computer  Enterprises' 

FREE  Spring  Computerlogue! 


IM5AI  PCS-80/30  kit  ........... 

.51097 

$1055 

IMSAI  PCS-80/15  kit  

.$  748 

$ 719 

IMSAI  VIO-C  kit  

.5  297 

$ 286 

TDL  ZPU  Board  (assembled)  

5 183 

$ 176 

TDL  XITAN  ALPHA  1.5  kit  

.5  812 

$ 781 

Seals  8k  250ns  RAM  (assembled)  . . 

$ 203 

S 195 

Dynabyle  16k  250ns  Static  RAM 

(assembled)  * 

$ 577 

5 555 

Cromemco  Z2D  kit * . 

,51399 

$1345 

Cromemco  Bytesaver  less  Proms  kit 

£ L36 

S 131 

Shipping  charges;  S 10  per  CPU  an  larger  units;  Si  .SO  per  kit.  S2.00  min. 
per  order. 

Delivery  is  stock  lo  30  days  on  most  (terns.  Shipment  k immediate  for 
payment  by  cashier's  check,  money  order  or  charge  card.  Allow  3 weeks 
For  personal  checks  to  clear,  N.Y,  Stale  residents  add  approp.  sales  lax, 
Availability,  prices  and  specs  may  change  without  notice, 


computer 

emerpruer 


Operating  Hours: 
M-W105E.S.T- 
TM  TH-F1M  E.S.T. 
Closed  Sat  & Sun. 


P O.  Box  71  Fayetteville,  N,Y.  13066 

Phone  (315)  637-6208  Today! 


2&0  T^20 

290  I FH .>=  I E6THEN330 

300  IFR^=1£3TH£H330 
310  PRINT  R;  rt  OHMS1' i T;  M#M 
320  GGT0120 

330  PRINT  H/lEfi; ,T  MEG  0HM5%Tf  n%n 
340  G0T012Q 

330  PRINT  R/lE3?,f  ft  OHMS", Tj 

360  GOTO 120 

370  T=2 

380  GOTO 290 

390  T = 3 

400  GO TO 290 

410  T—  10 

420  GOTO 290 

430  HIM  OAT  A FOR  THIRD  COLOR  RAND 

440  DATA  1 * 10*100 , 1 E3  ■ 1 E4 , 1 E5, 1 E6, 1 E7 , 1E8, 1 E9,  - 1 , »01 
450  END 


SAMPLE  RUN 

READY 

#RUN 

THIS  PROG  HAN  VttLL  COMPUTE 
RESISTANCE  VALDES  FROM  COLOR 
CODR,  EH TER  COLOR  BAND  NUMBERS 
FROM  LEFT  TO  RIGHT  SEPARATED 
BY  COMMAS. 


#Q  BLACK 
#3  ORANGE 
#6  BLUE 
m WHITE 
#12  NO  COLOR 


#1  BROWN 
#4  YELLOW 
#?  VIOLET 
#10  GOLD 


#2  RED 
#5  GREEN 
m GREY 
#11  SILVER 


ENTER  BAND  NUMBERS  ? 4,7,3,11 


RESISTANCE 
47  K OHMS 


TOLERANCE 

10% 


ABOUT  THE  AUTHOR 

Lucille  became  interested  in  computers  approximately 
one  year  ago , after  taking  a course  in  digital  electronics , 
Her  present  occupation  involves  servicing  communica- 
tions and  digital  equipment . She  is  also  an  amateur 
radio  operator.  Her  call  sign  is  W9ST. 

She  built  her  SWTPC  6800  system  in  the  spring  of 
1977  and  has  expanded  it  to  12K  of  memory.  She  is  also 
using  the  SWTPC  CT-64  terminal  and  the  AC-30  cassette 
interface , 


168  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  80 


APRIL  1978 


T/i 


TECH- MART 


I/i 


19590  VENTURA  BLVD. 
TAR2ANA,  CA  91356 


COMPUTER  PRODUCTS 
READY  FOR  IMMEDIATE  DELIVERY 


CALL 

(213)  344-0 1 53 


NOW  SERVING 

SAN  DIEGO 

367  Birdrock  Avenue 
La  Jolla,  California 
(714)  459-2797 

Same  great  service  and  sales! 


8080  MICROPROCESSOR 
SYSTEM 


IMSAI 


-SPECIAL- 

computer 


'FULLY  ASSEMBLED  ’ 
AND  TESTED 
WITH  10  CONNECTORS 

INCLUDES  CPU,  MAINFRAME  WI22  CARD  SLOTS,  FRONT  PANEL,  POWER  SUPPLY  — READY  TO  ENJOY 


$785 


KIT  WITH  10  CONNECTORS 


$655 


NEED  SOME 
HELP? 


BUSINESS  PERSONS 


FOR  THE  OFFICE 
AND  HOME  -- 


WE  ARE  HERE  WITH  A COMPLETE  TEAM  OF  HIGHLY  QUALIFIED  PROFESSIONALS 
TO  SUPPORT  YOUR  EVERY  NEED  IN  BUSINESS  APPLICATIONS. 

— HARDWARE  - UNIQUE  REQUIREMENTS  — SOFTWARE  — 


OTHER  MAJOR  PRODUCTS 

CENTRONICS  PRINTERS  - AFFORDABLE  - CROMEMCO  - T.E.I,  12  & 22 
DEC  PRINTERS  — PROCESSOR  TECHNOLOGY  — POLYMORPHIC  — SEALS 
TARBELL  — INFO  2000  - SUPERSCOPE  — MICROPOLIS  DRIVES  — 

AND  MANY  OTHERS 

Newly  introduced  Id  the  markei.  Malibu  Primer.  165  CPS,  Bidirectional.  SI 995.00 

WE  SHIP  ANYWHERE  WITHIN  THE  CONTINENTAL  U.S. 


10:00  AM-9:00  PM 
MON-FR1 

OPEN 

9:00  AM’6:G0  PM 
SAT 

CAPRI  PLAZA 

WE  SPECIALIZE  IN  SYSTEMS  HARDWARE  & SOFTWARE 
— WE  WELCOME  INQUIRIES  — 

(213)  344-0153 

APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  94 


INTERFACE  AGE  169 


IF  YOU  ARE  LOOKING  FOR: 

PROGRAMMERS 
SYSTEM  ANALYSTS 
REPAIR  TECHNICIANS 
HARDWARE  DESIGNERS 

SOFTWARE  ENGINEERS 

SALES  PERSONNEL 

YOUR  AD  ON  THIS  PAGE  WILL  BE 
REACHING  THOUSANDS  OF 
INTERFACE  AGE  READERS  — POTENTIAL 
QUALIFIED  APPLICANTS. 

Direct  all  inquiries  to  our  Advertising  Offices: 

61  South  Lake  Avenue,  P.O.  Box  4566,  Pasadena,  CA  91106 

(213)  795-7002 


170  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


Field  Engineers  /Technicians 


Were  looking  for  Field  Engineers /Technicians  with  experience  in  one  or 
more  of  these  areas: 

■ CPU  troubleshooting  and  repair 

■ Core  and  semiconductor  memory 

■ Peripheral  fault  isolation  and  diagnostics 


Software  Specialists 


Were  looking  for  Software  Specialists  with  experience  in  one  or  more  of 
these  areas: 

■ Rea!  time,  event-driven  application 

■ Operating  system  design  and  modification 

■ RSX 11,  RSTS  / E.TOPS  10 

■ Business  application  design 

■ Cobol,  Assembly  Fortran 


Sales  Professionals 


Were  looking  for  Sales  Professionals  with  a solid  track  record  of  success  in 
selling  computers  in  any  of  the  following  markets: 

■ Industrial  ■ Telecommunications  ■ Graphic  Arts 

■ Laboratory  ■ Education  '■  Banking  ■ Insurance 

■ Brokerage  ■ Large  Computers  ■ Terminals 

■ Commercial  ■ OEM  ■ Microproducts 


The  industry's  leading  state-of-the-art  minicomputer  manufac- 
turer needs  state-of-the-art  people  in  openings  nationwide. 
Digital  Equipment  Corporation  is  where  the  action  is  for  career- 
oriented,  fast  moving  professionals.  Take  a step  in  the  right 
career  direction  today  by  sending  your  resume  to:  Bob  Eld  ridge. 
Dept.  H0478  818,  Digital  Equipment  Corporation,  129  Parker 
Street,  Maynard,  Mass.  01754.  We  are  an  equal  opportunity 
employer,  m/f. 


APRIL  1978 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  14 


INTERFACE  AGE  171 


D.C.  METRO  AREA 

TYSONS  CORNER.  VIRGINIA 

COMPUTER  SYSTEMS  STORE 

Microcomputers  & Peripherals 
for  Home,  School,  & Small  Business 
1 984  Chain  Bridge  Rd.,  McLean,  VA.  221 01 
703-021-8333 


2708  & 2716  E-PROM  PROGRAMMER 
WITH  SOFTWARE 

For  KIM-1,  Motorola  6800,  Fairchild 
F-8,  RCA  1802,  or  Intel  8080. 
Assembled  & tested,  $59.95.  Kit  $49.95 

Optimal  Technology,  Inc. 

Blue  Wood  127,  Earlysville,  VA  22936 


/ COMPUTER  HOBBYISTS!  ^ 

Nationwide  Classified  ■ 

Advertising  Newsletter 

Buy  & Sell  Hardware  & Software 

new/used/unique/low-cost  1 

$3.75  for  18  issues.  M |( 

Free  sample  issue  on  request.  , 

ON-LINE  Newsletter 

24695  Santa  Crui  Hwy.  Lob  Gatos,  Ca.  95030  , 


KIM-1  $245 

SPECIAL  — includes  power  supply 

Immediate  Delivery 

KIM  4-part  harmony  music  pkg  $35 

4.5  amp  KL  Power  Supply  + 5V,  + 12V  $34 

Write  for  list  of  KIM  memory  and  accessories 

A B Computers 

P.O.  Box  104,  Perkasie,  PA  18944 


NORTH  STAR  SOFTWARE 
VARIETY  PACKAGE  #1 

• INVENTORY  #1 

• HEX.  DEC.  TRANSLATOR  AND 
MEMORY  FILL 

• ELECTRONIC  DESIGN 

• MEMORY  TEST 

• BASIC  AND  MACHINE  CODE 
PROGRAMS 

• GAMES 

• MUCH  MORE 

ALL  ON  ONE  DOUBLE-SIDED 
DISKETTE  ONLY  $20 
FOR  COMPLETE  PACKAGE 

• ADDITIONAL  DOUBLE-SIDED 
DISKETTES  - $5 

MC  OR  VISA  WELCOME  24  HOURS 

MIDWEST  DIGITAL 

863  Wood  Ave.,  Wichita,  KS  67212 
(316)  722-1711 


Check  our  prices  — We  will  not  be  undersold! 


POLY-8813 
POLY-88 
IMSAI 1-8080 
IMSAI 
APPLE  II 
EXTENSYS 


1 drive-No  monitor 
System  2 
22  Slot 

PC  Boards/Kits 
16K 

Memory 


$2500 
$575 
$575 
15%  Off 
15%  Off 
20%  Oil 


AAAA  Computer  How’s 
1477  Barrington,  Suite  17 
W.  Los  Angeles,  CA  90025  (213)  477-8478 


SOUTH  FLORIDA 
Computer  Stores f 


Inc. 


• ALPHA  MICRO  SYSTEMS, 

MICRO  FILE,  IMSAI 

• BOOKS,  MAGAZINES,  NEWSPAPERS 

• FULL  SERVICE 

• SOFTWARE 

• WRITE  OR  PHONE  US  FOR  PRICES 
MORE  THAN  JUST  TOYS 


University  Shopping  Center 
1238 A South  Dixie  Highway 
Coral  Gables,  Florida  33146 
(305)  661-6042 


SOFTWARE 

PROGRAMS 

FOR  NORTH  STAR 
AND 

MICROPOLIS  MOD  II 

ALL  PROGRAMS  ON  DISKETTE 

DISCO-DEX  - Computer  Rollidex 
system  and  sofisticated  mailing  list 
program.  Program  includes  6 Para- 
meters plus  name  and  address  (i.e. 
source,  date  credit  rating).  Human 
engineered  and  tested  to  be 
goof  proof. 

INVENTORY  CONTROL  PRO- 
GRAM - minimum  quantity  search, 
program  will  adopt  to  your  specific 
inventory  need  rather  than  you  have 
to  adopt  to  it. 

Cost  only  $25.00  for  DISCO-DEX  or 
INVENTORY  CONTROL  PROGRAM 
Price  includes  Diskette,  full  source 
listing  and  users  manual. 

DEALERS  INQUIRIES  WELCOME 


STYX  SOFTWARE 
P.O.  BOX  11882 
KNOXVILLE,  TN.  37919 


DIGITAL  GF 
20  MAXI-  Gann 

CAT.  1.00  | 

'h  REFUND  W/Ol 
BOX  37  MA' 

IOUP  OWNERS 

16  7 £aSS'  mini-20 

a—  80 

I.A.T.S.Z  DEPT1A 

fTESON,  IL  60443 

SOL  or  NORTH  STAR  OWNERS! 

VDM  GAMES  (require  SOLOS  or  CUTE*:  Reel  time  ROBOTS  and  ASTER0I0! 


PKGV1  <2  Gamesl  - 1200  BAUD  CUTS  - Tape $20 

NORTH  STAR  BASIC  GAMES:  ROADRACE,  30  TJCTAC,  EVENWINS. 
BIORHYTHM,  SUPRWUMP! 

PKGN1  (5  Gamesl  on  Diskette  $15 


MICRO  LOGISTICS 

P.O.  Box  922,  Madison  Square  Station.  New  York,  NY  10010 
N.Y.  Residents  add  8S  Sales  Tai 


6800  SOFTWARE 

INTERRUPT  DRIVEN  PRINTER  ROUTINE  — Any 
BASIC  program  which  uses  a printer  through  a par- 
allel I/O  port  will  run  up  to  50%  laster! $7.50 

GRAPH  42  — Create  real-time  graphics  with  ASCII 
characters  on  a SWTPC  GT-61  display  with  BASIC! 
Use  standard  BASIC  statements;  no  need  for  tedious 

machine  language  programming S5.50 

The  above  2 programs  require  SWTPC  8K  BASIC  2.0. 
LIFE— Play  J.H.  Conway's  game  of  LIFE.  Enter  a 

pattern  and  watch  it  evolve!  $7.50 

POTSHOT— Ballistics  trajectory  game  with  a 
realistic  moving  display.  Every  play  different!  (Re- 
quires SWTPC  GT-61  display) $7.50 

Each  program  requires  a 6800  with  MIKBUG  and  less 
than  2K  of  memory.  Full  source  lisling  and  MIKBUG 
paper  tape  included,  or  add  $1.00  for  Kansas  City 
formal  cassette. 

—Write  for  flyer  on  our  other  programs— 

APPLIED  MICROCOMPUTER  SYSTEMS 

Box  68.  Silver  Lake.  NH  0387S 


SHORTY  CASSETTES  's 

3M  C-10  Low  Noise  High  Denisty.  Short  enough 
to  rewind  and  still  hold  many  programs. 

$1.50  ea.  — 10  for  $14.00  — Send  $1.00  for 
complete  supply  catalog  with  refund  coupon. 

^ ' m 24000  BESSEMER  J 

A WOOOLANO  HILLS.  CA.  91367 £ 


PROTECT  VALUABLE  EQUIPMENT 

Lightning  and  heavy  machinery  often  create  AC 
power  line  surges.  Extensive  equipment  damage 
may  result.  Suppressor  absorbs  surges,  protect- 
ing delicate  equipment.  Sh-h-hl!  Built-in  filter 
greatly  reduces  power-line  hash  for  ‘‘whisper" 
operation.  Used  in  processor,  teletype,  power  sup- 
ply, peripherals. 

ELF/T-10  10  amp  Supressor/Fllter  $17.25  ppd. 
ELFrr-3  3 amp  Supressor/Filter  $14.25  ppd. 

ELECTRONIC  SPECIALISTS,  INC.,  Dept.  IF 
171  S.  Main  St.,  Natick,  Mass.  01760 


Dynamic,  growing  Southern  California 
microcomputer  manufacturer  has  im- 
mediate opening  for  creative  pro- 
grammer experienced  in  8080  and  Z80 
codes.  Excellent  professional  and 
salary  growth  potential.  Send  resume 
and  salary  requirements  to 
Mary  K.  Miller 
VECTOR  GRAPHIC,  INC. 

790  Hampshire  Road,  Suite  B 
Westlake  Village,  California  91361 


MICRO-MARKET  AD  RATE: 

$50.00  per  column  inch.  Maxi- 
mum of  4 column  inches  per  ad. 
Submit  ads  to  Micro-Market  Ads 
INTERFACE  AGE  Magazine, 
PO  Box  1234,  Cerritos,  C A 90701. 


172  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  1978 


Every  computer 
needs  & RCM 


Computers  Challmge  Americas  Cup  by  Eben  Ostby  □ A Beginner's 
Guide  to  Peripherals:  Input /Output  Devices  Your  Mother  Never  Told 
You  About  by  Leslie  Solomon  and  Stanley  Veit  O Computer  Country . 
An  Electronic  Jungle  Gym  for  Kids  by  Lee  Felsenstein  □ The  Best  Slot 
Machine  Game  Ever  by  Tom  Digale  O The  Micro  Diet  Better  Health 
through  Electronics  by  Karen  £.  Brothers  and  Louise  L.  Silver  □ Come 
Closer  and  We  Won’t  Even  Have  to  Talk  by  Avery  Johnson  □ The  Kit  and  I, 
Part  Four;  Testing,  Testing  by  Richard  W.  Langer  D Computer  Models 
in  Psychology  by  Joseph  Weizenbaum  □ Micro „ Micro  on  the  Wall , How 
Will  I Look  When  I Am  Tall?  by  Stuart  Dambrot  □ Copycat  Computer  by 
Tom  Digate  □ Talk  Is  Cheap  by  Hesh  Wiener  □ Project  Prometheus: 
Going  Solar  with  Your  Micro  by  Lee  Felsenstein  □ BASIC  from  the  Word 
GOTO  by  E ben  Ostby  □ Chipmaker,  Chipmaker,  How  Does  Your  Crystal 
Grow ? by  Sandra  Faye  □ The  Kit  and  l,  Part  Three:  Personality  Plus  by 
Richard  W,  Langer  D Make  Me  More  Music,  Maestro  Micro  by  Dorothy 
Siegel  □ Wings  in  Wind  Tunnels:  Computer  Models  and  Theories  by 
Joseph  Weizenbaum  □ What  Is  a Microcomputer  System ? by  Leslie 
Solomon  and  Stanley  Veit  □ Maintaining  Your  Micro  by  QS>  {The  Old 
Soldier)  □ Time  Sharing  on  the  Family  Micro  by  Barry  Yarkon  □ The 
Wordslinger:  2200  Characters  per  Second  by  Stuart  Dambrot  □ Light 
Fantastic : The  Kinetic  Sculpture  of  Michael  Mayock  by  Tom  Moldvay 
and  Lawrence  Schick  □ From  Bombs  to  ROMs  by  Lavinia  Dimond  □ 
Guard  against  Crib  Death  with  Your  Micro  by  Jon  Glick  □ Home 
Computers:  The  Products  America  May  Never  Know  It  Needs  by  Martin 
Himmelfarb  □ Putting  Two  and  Two  Together  by  Tom  Pittman  □ The 
Wonderful  Dreams  of  Dr.  K by  Hesh  Wiener  □ The  Kilobyte  Card: 
Memories  for  Pennies  by  Thorn  Veblen  □ The  Unlikely  Birth  of  a 
Computer  Artist  by  Richard  Helmick  □ Scott  Joplin  on  Your  Sci-Fi  Hi-Fi 
by  Dorothy  Siegel  □ Building  a Basic  Music  Board  by  Eben  F.  Ostby  □ 
The  Compulsive  Programmer  by  Joseph  Weizenbaum  □ The  Very  Best 
Defense  (a  short  story)  by  Laurence  M,  Jamfer  □ Chart  Up  and  Flow 
Right  by  Eben  F.  Ostby  □ Computer  Wrestling  The  Program  of 
Champions  by  Lee  Felsenstein  □ Forget  Me,  Forget  Me  Not  by  Avery 
Johnson  □ PLATO  Makes  Learning  Mickey  Mouse  by  Elisabeth  R, 
Lyman  □ Charged  Couples  by  Sandra  Faye  Carroll  □ Xeroxes  and 
Other  Hard  Copy  off  Your  CRT  by  Bill  Etra  □ The  Kit  and  I,  Part  Two: 
or  Power  to  the  Computer  by  Richard  W.  Langer  □ How  Computers 
Work  by  Joseph  Weizenbaum  □ Personally  Yours  from  IBM  by  Eben  F, 
Ostby  □ A Payroll  Program  for  Your  Small  Business  by  Robert  C.  Forbes 
□ Memories  Are  Made  of  This  by  Lee  Felsenstein  □ Memory , Memory , 
How  Much  Memory 7 by  Stan  Veit  O Software  — The  Genie  in  the  Bottle 


Every  monthly  issue  keeps  you  abreast  of  the  latest  microcomputer 
applications  for  home,  school,  and  office.  Written  by  professionals 
who  know  how  to  present  microcomputing  in  a lively,  readable, 
and  understandable  fashion,  ROM  is  fun.  ROM  is  instructive. 
ROM  is  everything  yon  ever  wanted  in  a computer  magazine. 


Look  what  you've  been  missing  without  your  monthly  ROMI 


Plus  columns  by  Ted  Nelson,  Andrew  Singer,  Bill  Etra,  and  A.I. 
Kars  Inner  T on  Artificial  Intelligence,  The  Future,  The  Human 
Factor  in  Computing ....  Plus  practical  software,  listings, 


documentation,  new 
more,  much  more. 


peripherals , interfaces » games , 


And 


computer  applications  for  living 


Name 


ROM  Publications  Corp.  j 
Route  97,  Box  I ( 

Hampton,  CT  06247 

I 


Address 


State 


U.S.A.:  DOne  year  $15  DTwo  years  $28  Dniree  years  $39 
Canada  & Mexico:  Please  add  $2/yr.  additional  postage 
Europe  ft  South  America:  Please  add  $12/yr.  additional  postage 
All  other  continents:  Please  add  $24/yr,  additional  postage 
□Check/money  order  end.  □ Master  Charge  □BankAmericard 


Exp.  date 


Card# 


Please  allow  4-6  weeks  for  delivery.  CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO,  47 


LL 


The 

computer 
magazine 
for  the  curious 


FOR  SALE:  Intel  single  board  computer 
with  system  monitor  software.  Board  is 
factory  assembled  and  complete  with  all 
ICs.  Board  contains  RS-232C  serial  Inter- 
face and  teletype  interface.  Serial  data 
rates  are  jumper  selectable  from  9600 
bps  to  110  bps.  Board  also  contains 
three  8255  chips  (72  lines  parallel  I/O). 
System  monitor  software  permits  dis- 
play of  all  microprocessor  registers;  set 
software  breakpoints  for  program  de- 
bug  and  display  contents  of  memory, 
$375,  T.  Kaplan,  7165  Leetsdale  DR,,  Apt, 
D22t  Denver,  CO  80224,  (303)  355-8920. 


FOR  SALE:  One  Processor  Tech  16K 
static  RAM  board,  working,  $150;  two 
Godbout  4K  static  RAM  boards,  working, 
$50  each;  one  Ithaca  Audio  8K  static 
RAM  board,  working,  $100;  one  Vector 
Graphic  18  slot  motherboard,  assembl- 
ed, $75;  one  ICOM  mini-floppy  system 
(board  and  floppy)  with  FDOS  HI  for  Sol, 
working,  $700.  one  PerSci  dual  floppy 
drive,  working,  $800,  All  prices  are  nego- 
tiable. Jeff  Roloff,  2214  Brookshire  Dr., 
Champaign,  IL  61820. 

FOR  SALE:  Digital  Group  Phi  Deck  con- 
trol baords,  handles  up  to  four  decks. 
Like  new  with  original  documentation 
and  software.  $90.  Tom  Lowery,  (606) 
255-9958. 


FOR  SALE:  Southwest  Tech  CT-64  termi- 
nal, completely  assembled  with  all  op- 
tions. All  ICs  socketed,  two  pages  mem- 
ory, RS'232  connector,  baud  rate  switch. 
Immaculate  assembly,  practically  unused 
and  in  perfect  condifon.  $375.  Mike  An- 
till,  P.O.  Box  3833,  Fullerton,  CA  92631, 
<21 3)  598-1125  eves  & wknds, 

T-TESTS  you  can  do  on  your  pocket  cal- 
culator. If  you  are  concerned  with  more 
sophisticated  statistical  analysis  and 
want  software  for  your  micro,  write: 
Daniel  R.  Buskirk,  1230  York  Ave„  New 
York,  NY  10021. 


TRS-BO  SORT:  in  BASIC  l,  4K  min.  Sorts 
recs  in  memory  on  1 or  2 numeric  fields 
In  asc,  or  desc.  seq.  Input  from  tape,  k.b.T 
or  both.  Output  to  tape  or  video.  Can  be 
subroutine.  $10  on  tape  w/doc.  To:  Micro- 
ware,  Box  6153,  Syracuse,  NY  13217. 


FOR  SALE:  Heathkit  H-9  Video  Terminal, 
assembled  and  working,  $475.  Robert 
Majanski,  214  Coolidge  Ave.,  Hasbrouck 
Nts.j  NJ  07604,  (201)  288-3742,  after  7 
p,m. 


FOR  SALE:  Hewlett-Packard  model 
1601 A Logic  State  Analyzer  for  use  with 
any  180  series  main  frame  as  a display 
unit.  Includes  two  mode!  10231A  6-Bit 
Data  Probes,  and  two  blue  light  filters, 
one  for  182  and  one  for  180  series  dis- 
play units.  See  HP  1976  catalog,  page  82 
for  more  info.  Brand  new  condition. 
$1400  or  best  offer,  Mike  Rosenthal,  906 
NW  30th  St.,  Corvallis,  OR  97330,  (503) 
754-0593,  evenings. 


FOR  SALE:  MITS  Dual  Disk  System  — 
8080A  with  heavy  duty  power  supply, 
dual  disk  drive,  40K  Seals  memory, 
ADM*1  CRT,  Okidata  Printer,  2 SIO 
board,  PROM  board,  disk  boot  loader  on 
PROM,  ACR  board.  Best  offer,  J,R,  Mor- 
row, 6501  Harding  Rd,  E21,  Nashville,  TN 
37205,  (615)  329-1844  day,  (615)  352-0599 
evenings. 


FOR  SALE:  Heath  H9  Video  Terminal, 
fully  assembled  and  tested  by  an  exper- 
ienced engineer.  Interfaces  to  virtually 
all  microcomputer  systems  via  RS-232, 
20  MA  loop  or  TTL.  Includes  many  unique 
features.  Price  includes  shipping,  $530, 
R,  Edison,  4 Longfellow  PI.,  Boston.  MA 
02114,  (617)  742-3074, 


FOR  SALE:  Control  Data  16-A  computer 
system,  8K  x 12  bits  core  memory,  2 
multiple-device  I/O  channels,  350  cps 
paper  tape  reader,  TTY  BRPE  punch  (1 10 
cps),  in  desk-type  cabinet,  110  vac;  also 
161 A I/O  typewriter  interface  with  stand, 
168-2  aux,  arith.  unit,  2 model  601  mag 
tape  drives,  ail  documentation,  software 
on  mag  tape  and  listed,  spare  cards, 
cables.  $995  for  all.  Roger  C.  Buck,  1122 
Post  Dr.,  Rockford,  IL  61108,  (815) 
399-2507. 


FOR  SALE  OR  TRADE:  DEC  Peripherals 
and  Modules:  DK8EP,  $375;  KL8E,  $195; 
AD8  16  oh.  A/D,  $875;  Omnibus  expand- 
ers, power  supplies,  DECwriters,  ASR33, 
etc.  Send  for  list,  Trade  for  ham  gear  or 
computer  gear.  Any  DEc  units  repaired/ 
custom  interfaces  buiit.  J.  Simpson,  Box 
632,  W.  Caldwell,  NJ  07006, 


FOR  SALE:  Teletypes,  35  ASR’s  and 
KSR's  cheap.  Carl  Schuch,  970  N.  Main 
SL,  Orange,  CA  92667,  (714)  639-0600. 


WANTED:  information  on  a FABRI-TEK 
Model  #422,  P/N  999-3761-02,  IK  core 
memory.  G,  Lose,  907  Minnesota  #6, 
Troy,  Ml  48084,  (313)  583-9744, 


WANTED;  Heath  compatible  hardware 
and  software.  Will  buy  or  trade  extended 
BASIC  software  programs  (have  over  70 
now).  Send  replies  to  Nick  NaImot  7468 
Maple  Ave.,  Maplewood,  MO  63143. 


FOR  SALE:  TDL  8K  BASIC  in  PROM. 
Works  In  S-100  bus  with  280  CPU  and 
TDL  monitor.  Powerful  and  fast.  Set  at 
addresses  C000  to  DFFF  (out  of  the  way). 
$300.  E.  Tottle,  2993  Yorkway,  Baltimore, 
MD  21222. 


FOR  SALE:  Heathkit  computer  system 
(8080  cpu)  fully  assembled  and  tested 
with  all  software.  H8  computer  and  H9 
video  terminal.  Contact  Paul  Randazzo, 
37  Maxwell  Dr.,  Wethersfield,  CT  06109, 
(203)  529-0530,  Asking  $1300. 


FOR  SALE:  Dazzler  Color  Terminal 
system,  88-4PIO,  cherry  keyboard  and 
case  with  numeric  keypad.  All  items 
function  perfectly.  Software  and 
manuals  included.  $400  complete.  Con- 
tact James  Burnham,  466  W.  Washing- 
ton #86,  El  Cajon,  CA  92020  after  4 p.m. 


FOR  SALE:  Sphere  System  I,  boards  on- 
ly, 6800  CPU  With  PROMs,  CRT,  power 
supply  and  cables,  all  with  documenta- 
tion. $225.  W.H.  Davis,  P.O.  Box  628,  An- 
napolis, MD  21404,  (301)  263-4832. 


SWAP:  Two  DEC  fltpchlps,  M7319 
Scratch  Pad  Memory,  16x256;  M7336 
PCS  16E;  want  photo  equipment,  Nikon, 
Olympus  OM-1*  Leica,  Please  send  me 
your  offering.  Dr.  S.  Zeitlin,  250  Gorge 
Rd.,  Cliffside  Park,  NJ  07010, 


TRADE:  12-slot  Altair  8800A  with  HD 
power  supply  plus  10  slot  IMSAI  for  fac- 
tory assembled  Altair  8B00B.  Both  units 
fully  socketed  and  factory  checked  out. 
Ken  Roberts,  10560  Main,  #515,  Fairfax, 
VA  22030,  (703)  591-6008  or  378-7266. 


FOR  SALE:  Altair  8800b,  16K  Altair 
memory  card,  88-2SIO  serial  I/O  (one 
port),  Proc.  Tech.  3P  + S,  8K  BASIC,  all 
manuals,  perfect  running  order,  little 
used.  Fully  burned  In,  store  checked  and 
tested.  Asking  $1960  for  ail.  Dr,  J.  Hotch- 
in,  18  Paxwood  Rd.,  Delmar,  NY  12054, 
(518)  439-4122, 

FOR  SALE:  First  13  Issues  of  BYTE 
Magazine,  $50.  S.  Gorman,  2368  Bol- 
sover,  Houston,  TX  77005. 


174  INTERFACE  AGE 


APRIL  197$ 


FOR  SALE:  Used,  good  condition  iCQM 
microfloppy  disk  with  S 100  interface  and 
software,  $600;  IMSAl  4 port  parallel  I/O, 
$200:  SSM  video  interface,  $150;  OAE 
paper  tape  reader,  $50,  Peter  Kazlouski, 
4234  Chestnut  St.,  Philadelphia,  PA 
19104,  (215)  EV7-7224. 


FOR  SALE:  Heathkft  H9  video  terminal 
assembled  and  tested.  Used  only  5 
hours.  $500.  Howard  Schimmelpfennig. 
351  N 41  h West,  Logan,  UT  84321,  (801) 
752' 1987, 


WANTED:  Technical  data  on  a CRT  ter- 
minal made  by  FQTO-MEM,.  Inc,  Ter- 
minal has  Ball  Bros.  CRT  assembly  and 
separate  cable-connected  keyboard.  If 
you  have  any  info,  drop  a card  to  Fred 
Ordway,  P.G.  Box  5946,  Washington, 
D.C.  20014. 


TRS-80  SORT:  in  BASIC  lf  4K  min.  Sorts 
records  in  memory  on  1 or  2 numeric 
fields  in  asc,  or  desc.  sequence.  Input 
from  tape,  k.b.,  or  both.  Output  to  tape  or 
video.  Can  be  subroutine.  $10  on  tape, 
with  documentation.  Micro  ware.  Box 
6153,  Syracuse.  NY  13217 


FOR  SALE:  Diablo  Systems  Model  31 
disk  drive  with  Interdate  controller.  Disk 
drive  is  100%  operational,  controller 
needs  some  work.  Full  documentation 
supplied  for  both  drive  and  controller. 
Best  offer  over  $1200.  Tom  Olsen,  655 
So.  Fairoaks  Ave,,  Apt  H206T  Sunnyvale, 
CA  94086,  (408)  737-9353. 


FOR  SALE:  Two  16K  dynamic  memory 
boards,  factory  assembled  and  tested, 
invisible  refresh,  acces  time  400  nsec. 
Use  on  S-1Q0  bus  Altair  8800  and  IMSAl 
8080.  $295  each,  plus  shipping.  A, 
Chong,  1718  Greenwich  St.,  San  Fran- 
cisco, CA  94123,  (415)  771-5496. 


FOR  SALE:  Working  CT  1024,  keyboard, 
power  supply,  serial  interface  (RS232), 
computer  controller  curser,  all  socketed. 
$100.  Les  Zoltan,  151  Buckingham  Dr, 
#280,  Santa  Clara.  CA  95050.  (408) 
984-7698. 


FOR  SALE:  Quay  Z-80  CPU,  factory 
assembled  and  tested,  $250,  VDM-1 
Video  Display  Module,  factory  assem- 
bled by  Processor  Tech,  $200.  SD  Sales 

4- K  Staffs  memory  for  S-100,  Z-80  com- 
patible, $50.  Godbout-Morrow  “Smart 
Cassette  Interface”  for  3 cassettes, 
RS232  and  20ma,  $75.  CCTV  High- 
Resolution  professional  Video  Monitor, 
$100.  SWTPC  ASCII  keyboard,  fully  en- 
coded w/interface  and  parity,  in  cabinet, 
$50.  SWTPC  power  supply,  suitable  for 

5- 100  (5t  12  and  -12  volts),  in  cabinet,  $50. 
IMSAl  6-slot  motherboard,  £15.  Or  take 
all  of  the  above  with  documentation  for 
$750.  Eric  Schneck,  426  E.  85th  ST.,  #5D, 
New  York,  NY  10028,  (212)  737-6458, 


FOR  SALE:  6-month-Qld  Some  terminal. 
24  lines  with  80  char/line,  upper  and 
lower  case,  block  mode,  protected  fields, 
direct  X/Y  cursor  addressing,  etc.  The  in- 
terface is  RS-232  switch  selectable  from 
75  to  19,200  baud.  Also  has  a numeric 
keypad.  Perfect  condition.  $850.  Jim 
Baumgardt,  6821  San  Alto  Wy.,  Buena 
Park,  CA  90620,  (714)  826-7056, 


FOR  SALE:  two  Digital  Group  8K 
memory  boards.  Uses  2102-1  chips.  Pro- 
fessional assembled  and  running 
perfectly  for  3 months.  $200  ea.  L. 
Langrohr,  work:  (312)  262-1600,  X491, 
home:  2069  N.  Humboldt  Blvd.,  Chicago, 
IL  60647. 


TRS-80  LEV  EL- J BASIC:  Star  Trek  (needs 
12K),  list  $7  00,  tape,  $9,95;  Biorhythm 
(4K),  list  $4,50,  tape  $7.00;  Lunar  Lander 
(4K),  list  $3  00,  tape  $5.00.  J R.  Menzies, 
7106  Colgate  Dr.,  Alexandria,  VA  22307. 


FOR  SALE:  Assembled  8080  system,  im- 
sai  22-slot  mother,  large  power  supply, 
PIC-8  28K  Godbout  RAM,  North  Star 
Oise,  PolyMorphic  video  board,  and 
Digital  Group  keyboard  and  cab,  $2800. 
Morrow  Cassette  Bd,  assm,  $79r  God- 
bout  ROM  with  4K  of  8080  assembled 
monitor  $200,  3F  + S kit  $1 10.  Oliver  tape 
reader  assm.  $60,  C,  Wat  robin  ski,  4923 
N.  Kedvaie,  Chicago,  IL  60630,  (312) 
736-6920 


TRS-80  OWNERS:  I have  the  software 
you  need  to  make  your  computer  do 
what  you  want  it  to  do.  All  packages  on 
cassette  with  documentation.  For  more 
info  write  Jerry  A.  Hicks,  1910  Grant  St., 
Malvern,  Arkansas  72104,  (501)  337-1443. 


FOR  SALE:  Heathkit  H-9  video  terminal, 
expertly  assembled,  $600  Also,  box  of 
ten  3-inch  Data  Packaging  (DPI)  floppy 
disks,  never  used,  $50.  i pay  shipping, 
Andy  Thornburg,  400  E.  Jackson  St, 
Desoto,  IL  62924. 


FOR  SALE:  Central  Data  2650  system 
with  Elect.  Tech  Power  Supply,  S-100 
adapter,  and  keyboard.  With  text 
editor/assembler  and  BASIC.  You  add 
TV,  cassette  recorder  and  turn  on,  $350. 
Three  Ithica  Audio  250ns  8K  memory 
boards,  $150  each.  Proc.  Tech  3P+S 
fn/out,  $130,  Tarbetl  cassette  interface, 
$100,  Documentation  with  each.  C.  David 
Remhart,  Box  21 2.  Louisville,  IL  62858, 
(618)  665-3030  evenings. 


FOR  SALE:  Cromemco  bite  saver  with 
MfTS  8K  BASIC  plus  8 PROMs,  $300, 
With  1 PROM  $150.  MfTS  disk  boot 
loader,  $30.  Multi-boot  loader,  $20.  IMSAl 
4K  static,  $80.  MITS  4K  dynamic,  $80. 
Ken  Roberts,  10560  Main,  #515,  Fairfax, 
VA  22030,  (703)  591-6008  or  378-7266. 


CAREER  WANTED;  I am  looking  tor  a 
challenging  position  programming  mini / 
micro  systems  for  a small  company  or 
department  in  the  Los  Angeles  area. 
Responsibilities  should  be  broad  based. 
I have  over  7 years  experience  program- 
ming all  types  of  systems,  assembler 
and  compiler  languages,  and  application 
and  system  programming.  For  a com- 
plete resume,  write  Gary  Young,  P.O. 
Box  66572,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90066, 

FOR  SALE:  Altair  8800B  MPU  18  slot 
motherboard  with  11  edge  connectors. 
Processor  Tech  3P+S  and  VDM-1, 
Tarbell  I/O  with  Ro-Che  cassette  con- 
troller, keyboard  model  EW-100B,  all 
assembled  with  cables  and  manuals  in- 
cluded, $2000.  or  best  offer.  K, 
McLeanas,  711  E,  Elizabeth  Ave.,  Linden, 
NJ  07036,  (201)994-3100,  ext.  268  days  or 
(201)  925'3053  nights. 


FOR  SALE:  TRS-80  Microprocessor  with 
tape  unit  and  RF  modulator  for  use  with 
any  TV,  Brand  new,  still  under  factory 
warranty.  $499  plus  shipping.  Also  have 
Medical  Software  for  microprocessors 
available:  patient  history,  health  risk  pro- 
file, differential  diagnosis  generators, 
clinical  laboratory  data  analysis,  symp- 
tom, disease,  and  drug  cross-indexing, 
bibliography-reference  retrieval,  and 
others.  Write  R.  Lufkin,  Star  Rt.  i,  Box  4, 
Charlottesville,  VA  22901. 


FOR  SALE:  Hewlett-Packard  Model  97 
Printing/Programmable  Calculator.  Cur- 
rent, top-of-theJine,  Excellent  condition. 
Less  than  a year  old.  Asking  $450,  Perry 
David,  5 Sycamore  Lane,  Skillmam  NJ 
08558.  (201)  685-1220  days,  (609)  921-3175 
evenings. 


FOR  SALE:  Texas  Instruments  Silent  700 
model  720  keyboard/printer  data  ter- 
minal RS232  interface  with  cable  and 
connector.  Also  has  parallel  input  and 
output  interfaces.  Good  condition,  with 
manual,  $825,  Earl  Petersen,  (213) 
889-8392. 


FOR  SALE:  Data  reference  card  for  RCS 
CDP1802.  Opcodes,  mnemonics  in  alpha 
and  numeric  sequence.  Cross  reference, 
Binary/Octal/Hexadecimal/ASCli,  $1,00 
plus  SASEt  R.W,  Moell,  5505  Daywood 
Ct.,  Raleigh,  NC  27609, 


FOR  SALE:  8K-8080A  system,  6 parallel 
I/O  ports  (add  2 chips  for  3 more  PIO  and 
1 serial),  3K  PROM  board  (w/o  2708),  two 
4K  450nsec  low  power  static  RAM,  TVT  3 
terminal  with  cursor  control,  UART 
board,  2K  RAM  board,  Hall  effect  ASCII 
keyboard,  HITS  audio  cassette  interface. 
All  boards  new  and  unused,  sockets  for 
all  chips,  most  boards  assembled,  5amp 
power  supply,  edge  connectors  (extra  in- 
cluded), card  guides*  case,  documents 

Branched  to  Next  Page 

INTERFACE  AGE  175 


APRIL  1978 


tion,  bonus  2-60  chip  ground  plane  w„w. 
proto  boards  with  96  gold  plated  ww 
sockets.  $675  (sent  UPS).  Write  for  infot 
David  Krlvoshik,  18  Newcomb,  Elizabeth, 
NJ  07202. 


NCR  high  speed  paper  tape  punches, 
1 lOWfSOHz,  used  but  overhauled;  about 
100  cps  (acc.  to  tech  manual),  self  con- 
tained cabinet,  tape  spooling  mechanism 
built-in,  8 tracks,  weight  40  lbs.  Delivery 
within  5 weeks  ARO.  Price  $200  incl. 
freight.  Collective  orders  from  clubs 
(min.  5 punches),  $150  per  punch  plus 
$100  for  freight.  Order  accompanied  by 
crossed  checks  shal  be  sent  to  Time 
Out,  Siegfried  Manfred  Rambaum,  Ross- 


doerfer  44,  6100  Darmstadt.  Germany, 


FOR  SALE:  PDP8I  memory  and  peripher- 
als, IBM  731  I/O  terminal.  All  in  good  con- 
dition at  low  prices.  Send  SASE  for  list  to 
R,  Romac,  Box  124t  Yorkville,  IL  6Q560  or 
call  (815)  498-2570  after  6 p.m. 


FIFO  FLEA  MARKET  ADS 

★ PERSONALS  FREE  * 

Maximum  10  lines  per  ad.  Submit 
Ads  to:  FIFO  Ads  — INTERFACE 
AGE  Magazine,  P.O,  Box  1234, 
Cerritos,  CA  90701. 


Same  day  shipment.  First  Sine  pads  only.  Faclory 
(esled  Guaranteed  money  back  Quality  lC‘s  and 
other  components  at  factory  prices. 

INTEGRATED  CIRCUITS 


U IWJJuT  w I ID  I 


r**Jh 

a«,if 

KiiH 

74-30H 

,'*UN 


«iin* 


ld  >nimh 

M JlliNl) 

,,  ’(LUS* 

■J 

1 1 ?fl£lU 

, ,u  JiLSian 

;n  mswrn 
rns'frt 

r.t  HUHr* 
tn  '4LS1  JS| 

*J  wjimm 

IT  lULllJIN 

,'u 

m r j La 1 67v 

in 

(41 

43 

13  TiiSfSSH 
71  MtCSlN 

m ■ 

*1  T4iS«rtt 
|+  LlMIAH 

Vi  n4aQ.fi. 

yt  fjjftn, 

■ 1 COM) 
tt  c^utj 


isi i :?ar  sag 


CW5H  J5II.1 

CD451*  II? 

C1U11<  I 0/  «*4ll* 


;1 


LJi  iviwr.i 
IS  IHU.3IH 
If  UttUfl. 

;i  1413?? 

Si 

I fl  IM1** 

IS  Uwu 
K LUlKf 
35  lUiajH 
12  iMWli1 

ET  JjWJ3(r 

it  IM-Nitii 

E-r  iMTiin 


i&m 

sra 

w ennui 

^ CCU5U 

ttHfllS 
™ CDJfll* 
£ LB«lE 
*-  count 

I;  CDIflll 
^ Ct-tU.O-  1 


- a rii*  t 

?*  :wMi  • ww 
j;  hmsH  , .■,  vuirf 

(TJ  ousts  fit  WwtJria 
3Q4M1  4*  Wrl[>> 
■*’  ■TPfllft  | tp  ‘(it'KH 
n caiilSL!  I « mat 
4no4 
tCf.fi 

biIom 

WHUOH 
^srira 


P.0-  Box  4430N  Santa  Clara,  CA  95054 

^^^^Farwill  call  onfy: (AOS)  988-1640 

SCDtl  Blvtf. 

Q 


kFor  will  call  only: 

Hk  2996  Scot!  Blvd.  ^ 

.uwL 


fELECTRONlCS 


■3W8U  I 
Jt  ?JKO 
! ?tC?a 
.'it’ifl, 


III 


(mUmUmi  i'.j.i  r-.  Mm 


2W  UtMWTW 
TS  <w* 
rtncu 


13  SD 
)W 

J.W 

I* 

™ S^pS  j™  cKS3  11  l Vi  j* 

it  Hr! S3  K ™ MMtni  ido 


?1  TfllJS 
■ f ?K5(1 

i is  Mi'  : id  ;j£  ™ 

v,  I M130-  I :r  row?  * f?£  ?“ 

i?  IN  gHffi  ,?  vu/;i 


OPilSKir 

i 

cdPiifii 

m 

hart  nra 

.tTV  iniT 


) !-)  ^ Mil?  th  : 

*i%  t b«i?  is 

1 1 jit  if  yv  * 

IDJ-J  <*  -W-l  ]» 

| jja  j* 

Ava  utiwi  i w 

L?  5Q  Hr  in 

iTtii  l IHJf  ««mfl 
!■:.  ro  1 Li.'B'.  Q»ir  i S5 
31  sd  EOlDeyWrlOi 
ninruni u. 
S Ml  ‘d  jH  htf  Ql  i 

r w t-j^ipc*  «s- 

% fti 


a ihs  Win  < 3d 

a Hi  vtr?  i in 

STNiUtw  4 in 
b SMI  'in,  1 i.il 
M ] I E H Hrir  i-3 


J Ql[4  UnlfVil.il 
tifcim  Bifid  (J 

OmMW  V 141  Vr»-  4lL  H,  S UKr 
M L EQ  'I'lt'ir  id-H 
*H4i  KMltB  IviifA  rfD 


Pualrfipiti  law  Logic 


'4l>ll( 
■‘HUM 
MU/ SI 
Mi«H 

mimn 


j,  a 

!;  ass 

EM  LMj^, 

tK<  4-Adjnn  K 

J|£“5  I,fi  iW3inn 

filOTAl  »r  I MJIt 

13  * 

JLi-JH,  m 

M;nN.  I K «MK0*  iT 

»'  lMUD.  ri 

TiliA  t*  iMBDTS 
■■43£?N  W IMISM 

mt«  Hi 

MLiSQ4i 


3,  lM-u'  .' 
fl  iWiftaa- 
nifl  L-Mf  1 - ' 

! *1  LM/E»I.’ 


ft  WtiflUV 
Id  HEMUl 
■n  DliiCS 
« HE^SI? 

Hi  4FI&U 

JD  i,Eibi4 

H ft 

Hl-'+i’I! 


, H Titian 

[ ^ tltiPfS  i 


■ v tini}}  is  iirSrm  T , MWJH 

;s  -a  ,s  SB  ij  sm 

5 > iiiini  i ar  Tir  i'.  ■ tii  * 

1 ■'  E^WIII  71  ricwi  T»  “y,; 
1?  WIA\S  j M MC9&  10  SO  "JSSj 

C rtl«W  104  hcmb  ID%.|  . K 

tl  f T^KJr  LIJW  SZl 


Jj  edicts 
2 CQ4ETW 
'«  fflj  ' 


cTrtui 

MVsjriAnw 


1 Ob 

J Uli 


HS^«3 

‘1=  ■'  ■ 

AWSun 

jiBjirii 

4CfflS‘3? 


1}  WUXt  1' 


7T1I. 

1C  l*il  tf|« 


.'iisetii 

rjLsasu 

?4L^">',ll 
.'i|  ?j  lilil 
T4|5l]i| 
rai- 1 io 

■i 


LU3MT  U 
' L«l?01  H 

■ ivjMir 
m- 

' LMH0l(-i 
V ‘ B 
IMJids  rt 

■ iMJW-ii 


Ui  lKW 
in  iw» 
ito  nm 
us,  iviiscn 
I to  IH42CH 
1 H,  'MSHCN  (tirtTti 

1 » A Id  D CQhVinrill  UOJiJri 
I 10  I3CUWI 


*'  U3I0M 
1 2 

bss 


fiiti 

m 

.J  4170 

3 W 

1174 


II  ki  I'd  1 la  It  lk<i  rz  .Ira* 

d\  h.u,-d  HfMMfHfMlt 

S3  if,  jho  i.i  e*# 

i.A  i, |i,,Cr,d  14  DOErcrSi*  id  Vi 

iuu 

a, a u?n  ij 


Mihh;  L?ijn(n  IV  l d J.fi.t*  a 

13'UMs  l [5  Mcur^g  Cllpi  J ll  . '. 

■i|»oh,lii|  f min  prrfH  ,,1.|*.  mjr| 

tOBMMOfAL  IMpALIIlS  « ,iMi 

'•  " j r 

■iii  i40  i mu  ?m  tr  1171  n 

ns  wmi  wn*r  i i>Di  i ia  lists 


UlClFAL  llimMaMEtEH 


MIM 


If VH  Jit! 

13  *y  cl  wo  mi 

il<  rM;  i*d  3 

IA  U MO  HI-  I* 
/IV.1  lEnj  in, 
m 1 r in*  Mi  dMfl 
DMnAV  LEW 

Mwn  u 

WMJ  (T, 

HlUITJ.ri  LA.-CA 

BUM  td 

Ihjfi?  ULjirrh  u 

Bt/JfWB  CACC 

UtTt?  rso  u E£ 

niJM  cc 

Ei-il  >!  'I  dd 

HH)y:ii  Sc?  Cd.  ct 

EUiWSSnL  cec* 

EhtlfOa  nsf  cm 

l S*4  liAW 


m is» 
Sw  i ft 
’«  ' " 
!*]J  . *1 
DM  1 n 
w *r> 


i <0  prmtw 
1 10  s;»a 

, tg  ip,jg 

1 _ > « WUCK.l 

7dLi7;i,  l;  itfjisr*  1 1(1  Bj?iii3 


Uf>  cfltui; 

/To.  cm M* 

ij  fl  ClUdW  i — 

in  CBiWjr  JIP3A1  1 Its 


in  <]5r 
rt  f w 

?r  MaO.MSliij.ilT 


l*  a m rtp  t ^ 

C.J  "DO  ph  Jgi  I Jfl 

'« jr*  »+s4  ww  i a 


* W QKfi  jj  Ml 

*"i|l  Mfl  Mif 

....  ...  n « 

' OS  Hlf  i 'A 

tfl  l?lt  tW 


,'U»4 

/hl'iEti 

7M0S) 


d?  ■ rl?  r tkisnuH  pisip  cji-j* i 
ICCMidt,  iS«M  ilk,  In  ri«p|Ll  ri* 

tHMhuiLB  idud  lira 

ff  llAU  loud  II  1 13*  tit 

,*  i»  iSSlilM  Ob  Ildus 

IN  111  Mint  Al  4*  M 

,n  li'>  '!*'  HU>d  Atpinreloi  II  JQ 

tij  Y' Jn  iiffiliif  btua  In  Ul.  i,’ 


r? 


i -.i 


iasff.'K'rs, 

.,-,.■1 ...... ....... 

JIM  CM'pi  piUlMrtl 


!3 


m LFliCH?  tfkdl*;*  * in.iw.  Id  K CiK-ldi 


1*131  s H. 

4 Hulun  digl.ll  PC 
o Ut  :, 


its  K Mr*K«l  a 


!H  go 

. ___)■  a* 

* fvd  J r H t f 


Sinclair  3Vz  Digit  Multimeter 

Ban.  oper.  1 mV  and . 1 NA  resolution  Re- 
sistance K>20meg.  T%  accuracy.  Small, 
portable,  completely  assem.  incase.  1 yr. 
guarantee.  Best  value  ever1  $59.95 

New  Cosmac  Super  "ELFM 

RCA  CMOS  expandable  microcomputer 
w.'KEX  keypad  input  and  vidtip  output  for 
graphics.  Just  turn  on  and  start  loading 
your  program  using  the  resident  monitor 
on  RDM  Pushbutton  selection  of  all  four 

60  Hz  Crystal  Time  Base  I 

Kit  $4.75  Converts  digital  clocks 
from  AC  Jwc  frequency  to  crystal  time 
base.  Outstandma  accuracy-  Kit  includes; 

PC  board,  MMS369,  cryslaf,  resistors, 
capacitors  and  trimmer. 

Not  a Cheap  Clock  Kit  $14.95 

Includes  everything  except  case.  2-PC 
boards.  G-.5CTIED  Displays.  5314  cloeR 
chip,  transformer,  all  components  and 
full  instructions,  Same  clock  Ml  with  .80 ' 
displays.  521.95 

CPU  modes.  LED  Indicatprs  ol  current 
CPU  mode  and  lour  CPU  slates.  Single 
step  op.  lor  program -debug.  Built  in  pw. 
supply,  256  Bytes  of  RAM.  audio  amp.  & 
spkr.  Detailed  assy.  man.  wPC  board  K 
all  parts  lully  socketed.  Comp.  Kit 
S 106. 95  Nigh  address  display  uplipn 
0.96.  Low  address  display  option  9.95 
Custom  hardwood  cab.;  drilled  front 
panel  19,75  Weld  Battery  Backup  Kit 

Clock  Calendar  Kit  523*95 

CT7015  direct  drive  chip  displays  dale 
and  time  on  .6"  LEDS  with  AM-PM  indi- 
cator . Alarm, 'doie  feature  includes  buz- 
zer. Complete  with  all  parts,  power  supply 
and  instructions,  less  case.  |< 

Digital  Temperature  Meter  Kit 

Indoor  and  outdoor.  Automatically 
1 switches  back  and  forth.  Beautiful.  50" 
LED  readouts  Nothing  like  if  available, 
heeds  no  additional  parts  for  compile, 
full  operation.  Will  measure  - 100’  to 
-?O0  F.  air  or  liquid.  Very  accurate. 
ComptclB  instructions.  S3 9. 96 

w ‘ail  parts  4 . 95  Fully  wired  and  tested  in 
cabinet  151,70  1502  software  kchng 
club,  write  lor  info. 

4K  Ell  Expansion  Board  Kit 
with  Cassette  l/F  S79.95 

2.5  MHz  Frequency  Counter 

Kit  Complete  kit  less  case  $37.50 

30  MHz  Frequency  Counter 

Kit  Complete  kit  less  case  $47.75 

Prescater  Kit  to  350MNz  519,96 

NiCad  Bait.  Fixer/Charger  Kit 

Opens  shorted  cells  that  won't  hold  a 
charge  and  then  charges  them  up.  ail  tn 
one  kit  wMi  parts  ft  ins  true.  S7.ZS 

Available  on  board  options:  1 K super  RDM 

monitor  SI  9.95  Parallel  I/O  port  S7.35 
RS232  l/F  S3.50  TTY  ZQ  ma  l/F  51.95 
SMOO  Memory  l/F  S5.30 

Tiny  Basic  for  ANY  1802  System 

Stopwatch  Kit  526.95 

Full  six  digit  battery  operated.  2-5  volts, 
3.2760  MHz  crystal  accuracy.  Times  to  | 
59  min. , 59  sec..  99 1/1 00  sec.  Times  sld. , 
split  and  Taylor.  7205  chip,  all  compo- 
nents minus  case  full  iostruc. 

RCA  CosmacVIP  Xit  275.00 

Video  coo, outer  with  games  and  graphics. 

Kansas  City  Standard  Cassette  5 ID. 08 
On  ROM  Monitor  S3B-0Q 
Super  Elf  owners  lake  30B'o 

rtrininal  ffttmar  "Cl  c”  l.i 

78  IC  Update  Master  Manual 

1970  IC  Update  Master  Manual  S30.OD 
Complete  tC  data  selector  2175  pg.  Mas- 

Ul tyiudl  bUMtldC  CLr  Nil 

All  parts  and  Instructs.  569.50 

Board  only  14.95 

Auto  Clock  Kit  $15.95 

DC  dock  with  A -.58"  displays.  Uses 

ter  relerance  guide.  Over  42,000  cross 
references.  Free  update  service  through 
1975.  Domestic  postage  S3. SO.  Foreign 
S6  00  Final  1977  Master  closeout  SI  5.00 

Video  Mudufalof  Kit  $9.95 

Convert  your  TV  set  into  2 high  guafity 
monitor  with  pot  affecting  normal  usage. 
Complete  kit  with  lull  instructions, 

National  MA-IOfZ  module  with  alairn 
option.  Includes  light  dimmer,  crystal 
timehasE  PC  boards  Fully  regulated, 
comp,  instructs.  Add  S3. 95  for  beautiful 
dark  gray  case.  Best  value  anywhere. 

TERMS:  $5. OB  min,  order  U S,  Funds.  Calitreslden1sadd6%1ax.  FREE;  Send  for  your  copy  of  our  NEW  1978  [ 
BankAmericard  and  Master  Charge  accepted.  QUEST  CATALOG,  Include  24?  stamp.  \ 

^ Shipping  charges  will  he  added  on  charge  cards.  J 

ADVERTISER  INDEX 


Info 

Inquiry 

Number  Page 

manufacturers 

1 Alpha  Microsystems 12-13 

2 AFIP5 60 

3 Aclec  Electronics,  Inc.  51 

A Android  Amusement  Corp .59 

5 Canada  Syslems,  Inc . 61 

6 Central  Data T .3 

7 CMCTEI .48 

9 CompulalherConsulLanls  S4 

10  Microcom  Systems B4 

11  Cromemco,  Inc * 1 

12  Dala  Dynamics  Technology  22-23 

13  Demarco-ShaUCompuler  Systems  37 

14  Digital  Equipmenl  Corp.  171 

15  The  Digital  Group  >15 

16  Digital  Micro  Systems 44 

17  dHItfilum  Press 10-11 

10  Dynabyte 27 

19  Electronic  Control  Technology  ......  .47 

20  Enclosure  Dynamics,  Inc. ...  20 

22  Electronic  Systems  Furniture  Co,  29 

23  F el  5 bu  rg  Assoc  I at  es.  i nc  9 

24  Forethought  Products 39 

25  D.C.  Hayes  Associates  Inc,  ....  35 

26,99  Heath  Company 20.  6 C 

27  lldanlnc ...45 

25  Inlo  2000  Corporation  ,67 

INTER  FACE  AGE  Magazine 46 

INTERFACE  AGE  Back  Issues  .38  106 

29  Intertec  Dala  Systems  . . 31 

30  Lear  Slegler,  Inc.  . 43 

31  Meca 30 

32  Microdesign.,.., 57 

33  M ic  ro  Com  pu  te  r Dev  ices  Inc 21 

34  Micromatlon  ,41 

35  Micro  Memory  Inc,, 61 

36,66  MicropoUs  Corp.  . . . r IB,  19 

37  MPJ 54 

38  National  Software  Exchange,  Inc,  ...  , 33 

39  Osborne  & Associates,  tnc 4 

40  PAiA  Electronics  50 

41  Percom  Data  Co.,  Inc.  34 

96  Percomp  78  (Santa  Ana) 24-25 

42  Peripheral  Vision  Inc 45 

43  Personal  Compel  ing  (Philadelphia) 17 

* PoiyMorphic  Systems,  Inc,  1BC 

45  Quasar  Industries,  Inc 40 

46  George  Risk  Industries,  Inc. , . 39 

47  ROM  Publications  Corp,  173 

48  ScienlJfLc  Research  I ns  I rumen  Is ......  70 

49  Seattle  Computer  Products,  Inc.  ......  49 

50  Sylvanhills  Laboratory,  me 52 

51  Space  Byte  Systems  Group 32 

52  Sore  c Tec  hn  o fogy , I n c 65 

53  SWT  PC , , IFC 

54  System  Insights 7 

7 TEI-CMC ...  .48 

55  Thinker  Toys  .......  53 

66  Trace  Electronics  tnc.  5 

57  Vandonberg  Data  Products  54 

58  Vector  Electronic  Co.,  Incx  73 

97  United  Slates  Robotic  Society 150 

50  United  Technical  Publications 56 

61,62  Wameco  Inc,  47.59 

83  Xttex  Corporation 36 

64.65  Xybek  44.57 

COMPUTER  STORESiSURPLUS  STORES 

87  Advanced  Computer  Products 166 

66  A-vIdd  Electronics  Co.  119 

69  Bits  N Bytes.  Fullerton,  CA  .117 

70  Byte  Shop,  Lawndale,  CA  , ,100 

71  Byte  Shops  ol  So,  FL.  127 

72  Byte  Shop, OH ,,123 

100  Byte  Shop,  Santa  Barbara,  CA  ......  .108 

75  MicroWorld  . ...........  89 

76  MicroAge  , 108 

77  Byte  Shop,  Tustin,  CA  129 

79  Computer  Components  109 

00  Computer  Enterprises  169 

01  Computer  Marl  of  New  York  inc.  , , . , , 131 

82  Computer  Store,  Santa  Monica,  CA  . . 102 

03  Dig  I -Key  Corporation 163 

04  Ithaca  Audio 100 

05  Jade  Computer  Products ........  164-165 

73  Khatsa  Computer  Systems  Inc ,137 

86  Mission  Control 133 

07  Neighborhood  Computer  Store 100 

80  NCE/Compulermarl  ...  1 07 

95  Quest  Electronics  176 

89  Rondure  Company .,,114 

90  S,D.  Sales  Company 159 

92  Sunny  Sounds T 14 

93.98  Sunshine  Computer  Company  . . 134, 135 

94  Tech-Mart 169 


’Manufacturer  requests  factory-direct  inquiry. 


776  INTERFACE  AGE 


CIRCLE  INQUiRY  NO.  95 


APRIL  1978 


READER  SERVICE  CARD 

Itnrnp/fi9f  April  1978  Issue 

iiuicnnsLC  auc  v°* ■*»<!«*  si.wb 

(Please  type  or  print) 

Name 

Title . 

Company  — _ Phone  (A/C) 

Address □ Home  □ Business 


City State Country  , Zip. 


ANSWER  THE  FOLLOWING  BY  CHECKING 

V My  Application  It 

OWE  BOX  ONLY  PER  QUESTION. 

A D Hobby  Only 

e □ Business  Only 

1.  1 Am  A 

C □ Hobby  & Bus-ness 

A □ Professional  | Medical,  AecOunUng.  Law.  Etc  f 

D □ IflSItuCWn  Purposes 

B □ Engineer  1 Electronics.  Mechanical  Elc.f 

E □ Research 

C O Business  Person  (Retail,  Whotesate,  Etc,) 

F □ Design  £ Oevaiopmoin 

D n Educator  (Professor.  Teacher.  Assistant  Etc  ) 

G □ Olher 

E G Student 

A.  My  Primary  Source  OT  "Slilt-sMhi-Jtrt'1 

F U Hobbyist 

inform*  *l«n  Comet  From; 

G O Other  

A G Magazines 

3.  My  Slalui  Lb 

9 □ E unions  & Convermeins 

A O Have  All  Comping  Equipment 

C □ Dud  Meetings 

9 □ Need  Mere  Peupherats 

D G Direct  Ma.i  From  Mflnulaclums 

C □ nave  CPU  Only 

E.  □ Diner 

0 dt-lave  No  EquJpment 

t.  1 protgr  To  Buy 

e n othQt 

A G DuGctly  From  Mamjlaciureis. 

3.  1 Need  This  InlOrmittun.  F« 

B a Local  Compuier  Retailer  (Store) 

A □ Immediate  Purchase 

C O Ma>i  Ordei 

6 □ Purchase  30-60  Days 

t)  C Dub  Group  Purchases 

C □ Comparisons 

E □ Olhfif  _ 

D Q Literature  Library 

B.  1 Look  To  INTERFACE  AGE  Flrtl  For 

E D Olhfir 

A Q New  Produd  pnlormaaort 

*■  My  IhltfHl  Emphatlt  1* 

B □ SDt1*are  inlgmsatron 

A G Malware 

C G fuWi.dK 

0 O Firmware 

D □ Hardware  Ariides 

c □soirw^c 

E □ Product  Advertising 

n n r>ihPf 

F n Bantams 

Please  send  information  on  items  circled  below. 

I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  10  19  20  21  22  23  24  25 

25  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  35  37  38  39  40  41  42  43  44  45  46  47  48  49  50 
51  52  53  54  55  56  57  58  59  60  61  62  63  64  65  66  67  68  69  70  71  72  73  74  75 
76  77  70  79  80  81  82  83  84  85  86  87  88  89  90  91  92  93  94  95  96  97  98  99  10Q 
101  102  103  184  105  106  107  100  109  110  Hi  M2  113  114  115  n6  117  1 18  119  120  121  122  123  124  125 
126  127  128  129  130  13 1 132  133  134  135  136  137  138  139  140  141  142  143  144  145  146  147  U8  1 49  150 
151  152  153  154  155  356  157  tS3  359  160  161  162  163  164  165  166  167  168  169  170  171  172  173  174  175 
1 76  177  1 78  179  180  18 1 182  183  184  185  1 88  167  1 88  189  1 90  19 1 192  1 93  194  1 95  196  1 97  198  199  200 
201  202  203  204  205  206  207  208  209  210  21 1 212  213  214  215  216  217  218  219  220  221  222  223  224  225 
226  227  228  229  230  23 1 232  233  234  235  236  237  238  239  240  24  1 242  243  244  245  246  247  248  249  250 
25 1 252  253  254  255  256  257  258  259  260  281  262  263  264  265  266  267  268  269  270  27 1 272  273  274  275 
276  277  278  279  280  26 1 282  263  284  285  286  287  288  289  290  291  292  293  294  295  296  297  298  299  300 
301  302  303  304  305  306  307  308  309  3 10  3 1 1 3 12  3 1 3 3 1 4 3 1 5 318  3 1 7 3 1 8 3 19  320  321  322  323  324  325 
326  327  328  329  330  33 1 332  333  334  335  336  337  338  339  340  34  1 342  343  344  345  346  34 1 348  349  350 
351  352  353  354  355  356  357  358  359  360  36 1 362  363  364  365  368  367  368  389  370  37 1 372  373  374  375 
376  377  378  379  300  38 3 382  383  384  385  386  387  388  389 390  39 1 392 393  394  395  396  397  398  399400 


READER  SERVICE  CARD 

imf  i»  ap  tm  April  T 978  Issue 

nuicnrflLC  aiac  Void  after  July  3T,  1978 

(Please  type  or  print) 

Name  

Title  

Company  Phone  (A/C) 

Address „ □ Home  □ Business 

City State Country Zip 


ANSWER  THE  FOLLOWING  SY  CHECKING 

5.  My  AppElciEEon  It 

OWE  BOX  ONLY  PER  QUESTION. 

A □ Hofc&y  Only 

B.  □ Bu&m«S  Only 

1.1  Am  A 

C.  □ KbSBy  A Business 

A.  O Professional  fMed-eet.  Acco-uniing,  Law,  Etc,) 

O.  □ In  si  ruction  Purposes 

B.  □ Engineer  (Electronics,  Mechanical  Etc.) 

E D Research 

C.  □ Business  Person  \ Retail,  WMe&ale.  Eic.j 

F.  U Design  £ Development 

D □ Educator  fProlessm,  Teacher.  Ai&islant,  Elc.j 

G.  □ Other 

E.  □ Student 

B,  My  Primerr  Source  Of  HSiai#-cMh*-Arr 

F.  □ Hobb-y^l 

1 r>f ormaliOn  Comet  From; 

G.  G Other 

A.  OMagaimes 

2,  My  Slalua  la 

B □ Exhibits  £ Conventions 

A □ Have  All  Computing  Equipment 

C G Ou0  Meetings 

B □ Need  More  Peripherals 

D □ Direcl  Mail  From  Manufacturers. 

C □ Have  CPU  Grtiy 

£.  D Other 

O □ Have  1*0  Equipmenl 

T.  1 prefer  To  Buy 

£ □ Other 

A □ Oireclty  From  Manulaclurers 

5.  I Nn-ftd  Thtla  InTbirnalfon  For 

0 O Locar  Compuier  Retaitef  (Store) 

A □ irnotirdiaio  Purchase 

C.  □ Mflil  Order 

B □ Purchase  30-60  Days 

D.  □ Club  Oroup  Purchases 

C.  D Comparisons 

£.  □ Olher 

D D Literature  Library 

0.  1 L«k  T&  INTERFACE  ACE  Fin!  For 

£ □ Other  — — 

A O Ne  w Product  Inlqrmalion 

4.  My  Intereil  EmpheiLt  !■ 

B □ Software  [nformatiOh 

a D Hardware 

C □ Tulpuats 

B □ Firmware 

O.  □ Horcware  Articles 

C.  □ SoUware 

E.  O Product  Advancing 

ft  Ift  ftihurr  

Please  send  information  on  items  circled  below. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25 

26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  38  39  40  41  42  43  44  45  46  47  48  49  50 
St  52  53  54  55  56  57  58  59  60  61  62  63  64  65  66  67  68  69  70  71  72  73  74  75 
76  77  78  79  00  81  82  83  84  65  86  87  88  89  90  91  92  93  94  95  96  97  9B  99  TOO 
10 1 102  1 03  104  105  106  107  108  109  1 10  M 1 112  M3  1 14  1 15  1 16  11 7 1 18  1 19  120 121  122  123  1 24  125 
126  127  126  129  130  131  132  133  134  135  136  137  138  139  140  141  142  143  144  345  146  147  145  149  150 
15  t 152  153  154  155  156  157  158  159  160  161  162  163  164  165  166  167  160  169  170  171  172  173  174  175 
176  177  178  179  180  181  182  183  184  185  186  107  188  109  190  191  192  193  194  195  196  197  198  199  200 
20  1 202  203  204  205  206  207  208  209  2 10  2 M 212  2 13  214  2 IS  21 6 2 1 7 2 1 8 2 19  220  22 1 222  223  224  225 
226  227  228  229  230  23 1 232  233  234  235  236  237  238  239  240  24 1 242  243  244  245  246  247  248  249  250 
25 1 252  253  254  255  256  257  358  259  260  26 1 262  263  204  265  266  267  268  269  270  27 1 272  273  274  275 
276  277  278  279  280  28 1 202  263  234  265  286  267  288  269  290  291  292  293  294  295  296  297  298  299  300 
30 1 302  303  304  305  306  307  308  309  3 10  3 1 1 31 2 3 13  3 1 4 3 15  3 1 6 3 17  3 18  319  320  321  322  323  324  325 
326  327  328  329  330  33 1 332  333  334  335  336  337  338  339  340  34  1 342  343  344  345  346  347  348  349  350 
35 1 352  353  354  355  356  357  350  359  360  36 1 362  363  364  365  366  367  368  369  370  371  372  373  374  375 
376  377  378  370  380  36 1 382  383  384  305  386  3B7  300  389  390  39 1 392  393  394  395  396  397  390  399  400 


Please  use  only  t card  per  person.  Thanks!  Please  use  only  1 card  per  person.  Thanks  I 

READER  SERVICE  CARD  -O 


CL 


tr 

o 


co 

CQ 


0 

D 


SUBSCRIPTION  APPLICATION  FORM 

PAYMENT  MUST  ACCOMPANY  FORM 

SUBSCRIPTION  FEE  per  year:  $14.00  U.S.,  $16.00  Canada/Mexico,  $24.00  Foreign. 

Must  be  in  U.S,  funds  drawn  on  a U.S.  bank. 

Make  check  payable  to:  jiuYcnrflLE  flBE  Magazine 

P.O.  Box  1234,  Cerritos,  CA  90701 


Name  . 


Company  

Home  Address . 

City 

Date  _ 


□ CHECK 


Title 


State 

Signature  _ 

□ MONEY  ORDER 


Country Zip 


□ 


Account  # 


Expires 


T_ 

CO 

co 

CO 

CO 

CVJ 

6 

$ 

o 

O 

:z 

c 

CO 

o 

E 

c 

LL 

q3 

O 

CL 


< 

s 

>- 


B 

CO 

T3 

0) 

c 

3 

CD 


o. 

Ul 

oc 

(0 

(0 

Ui 


O) 

D 

CD 


CO 

CO 

co 

Q> 

o 

CD 

2 

Q_ 

E 

iS 

co 

CD 

CD 

2 

CO 

O 

Q_ 


N 

(0 

o> 

CO 


kU 

IQ 

kU 

l_l 


-q 

'co 

Q. 


lB 

cC 

k|J 


CD  O 


h- 

CO 

CO 

C\J 

$ 

CO 

co 

d 

_o 

O 

z 

c 

00 

,-tr 

o 

.hr 

E 

c 

LL 

cd 

CL 

o 

CO 

-J  CO 


Ul  ^ 
CC  £. 

CO 

<0  8 


Z | 


N 

(0 

O) 

(0 

a * 


kU 

IQ 

kU 

l_J 


-q 

co 

CL 


lS 

CC 

kU 


CM 

CO 

K 

CM 

in 

m 

5 

o 


u> 

CO 

CM 

X 

o 

m 


■it 


C» 

111 

> 

O 

2 

o 

H 

O 

z 

z 

z 

< 

0. 


i s f 
: § I 


■2  5 


CD  <d 

■i  £ 


£ o-E  « 


: © 


E - 


IS  IS' 

© < $ o 
$ Ll_  _ C ' 
,1  CC  © “ 

1 s 

“Is4 

ni 


D © 
0 CO 


rp  c _ 


£ 

Ul 

z 


2 © 
Q.  O 


o 

H- 

D 

CC 

< 

o 

D 

111 

h 

UJ 


O 

o 

-I 

< 


Q) 

C 

N 

(0 

O) 

CO 

a S 

kU 

IS 

kU 

IJ 

LhS 

CC 

kU 

I- 


o 

h- 

o 

CD 

CD 

'c 

^ o 

CO  ^t= 
^ "CO 

o 

X 

o CO 

CD  O 


o 

CL  o 


■ ^ - CD 


The  Computer  for  the  Professional 


The  8813  was  built  with  you,  the  professional,  in  mind. 
It  quickly  and  easily  processes  cost  estimates,  payrolls, 
accounts,  inventory,  patient /client  records  and  much 
more.  You  can  write  reports,  briefs,  and  proposals  on 
the  88LVs  typewriter  keyboard,  see  them  on  the  video 
screen,  and  instantly  correct,  revise,  or  print  them. 

Using  the  8813,  one  person  can  process  what  would 
normally  require  many  secretaries,  several  bookkeepers, 
and  a great  deal  of  time , And  data  storage  takes  a small 
fraction  of  the  space  used  by  previous  methods. 


You  don't  need  to  learn  complicated  computer  lan- 
guages. The  8813  understands  commands  in  English.  If 
you  want  to  write  your  own  programs,  the  8813  includes  a 
simple  computer  language,  BASIC,  that  you  can  master  in 
a few  days.  The  8813  slashes  the  professional's  overhead. 

It's  a powerful  time  and  money-saving  ally.  Prices  for 
complete  systems  including  printer  start  at  less  than  $8,000. 

See  the  8813  at  your  local  dealer  or  contact  PolyMorphic 
Systems,  460  Ward  Drive,  Santa  Barbara,  California,  93111, 
(805)  967-0468,  for  the  name  of  the  dealer  nearest  you. 


PolyMorphic 

Systems 


a computer 
can  get  awfully 
bored  when  it  can't 
communicate! 


Be  sure  to  use  coupon 
on  page  28  of  this 
magazine  to  order  your 
FREE 

Heathkit  Catalog. 


So  unless  you’d  prefer  to  have 
your  computer  sitting  around 
cooling  its  chips, 
we'd  strongly  sug- 
gest you  buy  a 
couple  of  peripherals 
from  Heath.  Long-form  Display 

Why  us?  Because 
we  make  peripheral 
kits.  In  fact,  they're 
Some  of  the  best  Short-form  Display 

around.  Our  H9  is 
an  excellent  ex- 
ample, Its  a com- 
plete ASCII  key- 
board/12" CRT 

terminal  that  was  designed  for 
hobbyists  just  like  you.  It  has  a 
lot  of  really  great  features  and 
resolution  that's  just  beautiful. 
Right  on  out  to  80  characters  per 
line.  (Something  most  outboard 
TV  monitors  won't  match!)  And 
with  built-in  selectable  inter- 
facing options,  the  H9  will 
"converse"  with  just  about  any 
computer  going! 


Plot  Mod© 


The  H10  is  another  of  our  "univer- 
sal" peripheral  kits.  Completely 
self-contained  (it  even  has  its 
own  power  supply),  this  rugged 
paper  tape  reader/punch  gives 
you  quick,  convenient  mass  stor- 
age and  internal  tape  duplication 
capability.  Its  easy  to  build  and, 
with  its  heavy-duty  stepper 
motor,  sensitive  Darlington  photo 
transistors  and  precision 
punches,  the  H10  is  a source  of  re- 
liable data  loading  and 
storage  time  after  time. 


Best  of  ell,  priced  at  $530  and 
$350  respectively*  the  H9  and 
HID  kits  cost  less  than  most 
other  comparable  peripherals 
on  the  market  today! 

A computer  can  get  awfully 
bored  when  it  can't  communi? 
cate.  Start  communicating  with 
yours  through  an  economical 
peripheral  from  Heath! 

Mail  aider,  FOB,  Benton  Harbor,- Michigan. 

Retail  prices  slightly  higher, 

Prices  and  specifications  subject  ; i 


System  Engineered 
for  Personal  Computing 


H9H10 


CIRCLE  INQUIRY  NO.  99